Brussels, Dec. 14, (dpa/GNA) – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán reiterated on Thursday his stance that opening EU accession talks with Ukraine would be premature.
“There is no reason to negotiate membership of Ukraine now,” Orbán told reporters, as he arrived at a European Union summit in Brussels.
“We have set up seven preconditions, and even by the evaluation of the [European] Commission, three out of the seven [are] not fulfilled,” he said.
The commission recommended opening talks in November, despite the shortcomings. Ukraine has repeatedly promised to implement the outstanding reforms in the coming months.
EU leaders in Brussels are required to decide unanimously whether the bloc wants to start accession talks with Kiev.
Orbán also hinted that a separate decision to unlock about €10 billion ($10.9 billion) in EU funds for Hungary has not softened his opposition.
“Hungary does not connect any Hungarian issue to any Ukrainian or other issue,” he said.