Orbán cabinet shared how much the Ukrainian state’s operation and the rebuilding costs for the European taxpayers
Fast-tracking Ukraine’s accession to the European Union would be a “serious risk” and a political and economic burden on Europe, including Hungary, the prime minister’s political director said on Saturday.
Because neither Europe nor Hungary could bear such a burden, the Hungarian government will be the first in the European Union to seek the opinion of the people in the matter in a public survey, Balázs Orbán told public current affairs channel M1.
“The results of the survey will be politically binding for the Hungarian government,” Orbán said. “From there on, at the negotiations in Brussels, we intend to represent the opinion expressed by the Hungarian people.”
He argued that Ukraine’s admission to the bloc would also violate the principle of merit-based enlargement and send the wrong message to candidate countries that have been waiting 10-20 years for the conclusion of their accession talks “and are economically far better prepared than Ukraine”.
Citing data from the World Bank, Orbán said Ukraine’s reconstruction would cost Europe more than 500 billion US dollars, while the operation of the Ukrainian state alone costs an annual 100 billion dollars.
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