The European Commission has called the results of the Hungarian "referendum" on Ukraine non-binding

The EC believes that there are no objective reasons to object to the opening of the first cluster

Tetiana Lanchukovska

News editor at LIGA.net

July 1, 16:53

EU flags (Illustrative photo: Olivier Hoslet/EPA)

The European Commission has taken note of the results of the national consultations in Hungary regarding Ukraine's membership in the European Union, however, they are non-binding. This was announced at a briefing by European Commission spokesperson Guillaume Meurice, commenting on Budapest's blocking of the opening of negotiating clusters.

"Our position is very clear. We take into account the results of these national consultations. The Hungarian government convened and organized this non-binding consultation. And, as you know, national consultations are a matter for national authorities," said Mercier.

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According to him, the EU will demand explanations from Budapest regarding the country's position and the arguments for why Hungary opposes Ukraine's membership. The European Commission spokesperson emphasized that Ukraine is implementing reforms "under the most difficult circumstances imaginable."

"The Commission has assessed that Ukraine has met the criteria for opening the first cluster, i.e. the cluster on fundamental issues. We also positively assessed Ukraine's accession plan regarding minorities, which meets the needs of its neighbours. Therefore, we have always defended a merit-based approach when it comes to accession," added Mercier.

He believes that there are no objective reasons to object to the opening of the first cluster in this case.

"Therefore, when a candidate country is held back without objective reasons, despite fulfilling the criteria, the entire enlargement process loses its credibility. So we very much hope that we will be able to open the first cluster very soon," the spokesperson said.

On March 14, 2025, Zelenskyy announced that only one country – Hungary – was blocking the decision on Ukraine's EU membership. Support from all member states is required to resolve issues of foreign policy and security.
On June 26, Orbán announced the results of the Voks2025 propaganda national poll on Ukraine's accession to the EU. He stated that the absolute majority of Hungarians voted against it.