Speaking before a public forum in Tiszaujvaros, in north-eastern Hungary, Szijjarto cited the Ukrainian president as saying recently that the majority of Hungarians supported his country’s accession to the EU, adding that it was the Hungarian people, not Volodymyr Zelensky, who would decide on Ukraine’s membership.

"It’s clear that the Hungarian member party of the European People’s Party, Manfred Weber’s subordinates, meaning the Tisza Party, supports Ukraine’s EU accession, but the opinion of the Hungarian people won’t be decided by Tisza or Volodymyr Zelensky, but the Hungarian people themselves," Szijjarto said.

"That’s why we call on everyone to take part in the 2025 referendum, in which all Hungarians … can have their say on Ukraine’s fast-tracked EU membership," he said.

Szijjarto said fast-tracking Ukraine’s accession would result in Hungary’s job market being "flooded by hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian jobseekers" and Hungary "becoming the Ukrainian mafia’s gateway … to Europe".

"But there are two things we definitely don’t want," he said. "We don’t want to become a target for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian jobseekers, and we don’t want to become a gateway for the Ukrainian mafia".

"The Hungarian people can prevent this, since Ukraine’s fast-tracked accession requires a unanimous vote, and a unanimous vote requires Hungary’s vote as well," Szijjarto said, adding that Hungary’s vote in Brussels would reflect the outcome of the referendum.

Szijjarto: EC wants to make Hungary pay price of ‘senseless, immeasurable support for Ukraine’

The European Commission wants to make Hungary, among other countries, pay the price of its "senseless and immeasurable" support for Ukraine by banning Russian energy imports, Peter Szijjarto, the foreign minister, said on Tuesday, adding that this would pose a "serious threat" to the country’s energy security.

Speaking in reaction to a fresh announcement by European Union Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen, Szijjarto said in Tiszaujvaros, in north-eastern Hungary, that after the "complete failure" of its sanctions on Russia, the EC was "making another serious mistake by banning energy imports from Russia".

"The forced, artificial and ideological ban on Russian energy causes serious difficulties for the economies of many European countries; it causes serious problems for some European companies in terms of international competitiveness, and poses a serious threat of price increases on the energy market," the minister said.

"It’s totally clear what this decision by the European Commission is about," Szijjarto said. "This decision is about the European Commission wanting to make countries that operate in a sensible way and pursue sensible policies, like Hungary, pay the price of its senseless and immeasurable support for Ukraine, meaning the price of quickly pushing Ukraine into the European Union."

"We reject this, we refuse to pay the price of the senseless and immeasurable support going to Ukraine," he said. "We refuse to pay the price of Ukraine’s extra quick EU accession."

He said the EC’s decision was also a "grave violation" of the sovereignty of member states, including Hungary, arguing that EU law made it clear that member states are free to determine their own energy mix and decide where they buy energy from.

"This decision by the European Commission poses a serious threat to the security of Hungary’s energy supply, because energy security is not a political issue, but a rock-solid political one," Szijjarto said. "You can buy natural gas and crude oil from where there are pipeline connections. You can’t buy natural gas and crude oil from places with which there aren’t."

Hidveghi: Ukraine’s EU membership would be 'catastrophic' for Hungary

The stakes of the ongoing referendum on Ukraine’s European Union accession are "huge", the parliamentary state secretary of the Prime Minister's Cabinet Office said on Tuesday, arguing that Brussels wanted to decide on fast-tracking the neighbouring country’s integration without seeking the public’s opinion.

"This would have catastrophic consequences for Hungary," Balazs Hidveghi said in a video on Facebook.

He sad that supporting Ukraine has so far cost Hungarian families close to 2.5 million forints each (EUR 6,200), adding that Ukraine’s accession could cost each Hungarian household an additional 4 million forints a year.

Hungarian farmers would lose 7 billion euros in EU funding, Hidveghi said, warning that "those who say ’yes’ to Ukraine will say ’no’ to monies Hungary is entitled to."

Source: 
MTI - The Hungarian News Agency, founded in 1881.

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