Orbán faces EU threats to cease Ukraine-related blackmail: Requires minimum of 70 approvals

Baláš Orbán, the political advisor of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, threatened the European Union with further blackmail from Budapest in the context of Ukraine's accession to the EU. He reported this on X (Twitter).

According to him, despite the decision to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union, Hungary continues to believe that Kyiv is not ready for this and opposes it.

"However, 26 EU Member States hold a contrary view. Following extensive negotiations, Hungary opted to exit the meeting room and abstain from the vote—not to obstruct the outcome but to avoid cooperating in what we perceive as a misguided decision," Orbán said.

He noted that the European Council's agreement is a decision in principle, and that member states must also unanimously agree on a "specific framework" for negotiations.

"Additionally, a minimum of 70 unanimous decisions will be required throughout the upcoming years to endorse Ukraine's accession to the EU.," said the Hungarian Prime Minister's adviser.

Orbán has repeatedly stated that official Budapest opposes the start of negotiations regarding Ukraine's accession to the bloc. According to the EU statute, this decision can only be taken by a full consensus of all member states, so European and Ukrainian officials tried to convince Orbán not to vote against it.

On the morning of December 14, Orbán promised that Hungary would block the negotiations.

However, in the evening, the European Council, despite Hungary's position, gave the "green light" to negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the EU.