It’s a symbolic move that makes Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán look more isolated than ever. He is unable to hold up real EU assistance to Ukraine, and Hungary’s European partners are coming up with workarounds to avoid any veto.
At the same time, Orbán is also emboldened by U.S. President Donald Trump, who is pushing for a ceasefire in Ukraine. Trump has blamed Ukraine for Russia's unprovoked invasion, all while accusing Kyiv of unnecessarily prolonging the biggest land war in Europe since World War II.
As a matter of principle, the 27 EU member nations strive for unanimity on big decisions. When it comes to sensitive foreign affairs questions, it is often a legal necessity.
Under stridently nationalist Orbán, Hungary has drifted ever further from the EU fold over the war in Ukraine, repeatedly holding up the passage of multibillion-euro aid packages and sanctions. But the rest of the bloc is growing more inclined to proceed without him, as an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday is expected to underline.
Orbán is the closest to Russian President Vladimir Putin of all EU leaders, and is backing U.S. President Donald Trump's peace talks with Moscow, which have largely sidestepped Kyiv and the EU. Two weeks ago, Hungary already refused to put its name to a joint EU statement that referred to Ukraine achieving "peace through strength" by counting on continued European military and financial support.
Orban didn't speak at his arrival at the summit on Thursday.
Earlier this week, Hungary's European Affairs Minister Janos Boka indicated that Budapest would refuse to sign the joint statement. “The part on Ukraine in several points is against the strategic interests and the strategic vision of Hungary on how to create the new European security architecture,” Boka said Monday.
Ahead of the summit, EU officials and diplomats from other countries made clear they wouldn’t spend time being drawn into hours-long debates with Budapest when agreement on Ukraine was impossible.
Two weeks ago, at an emergency summit, European Council President Antonio Costa described Hungary as “isolated”. “We respect Hungary’s position,” he said. “But it’s one out of 27, and 26 are more than one.”
Hungary can take the symbolic step of blocking joint statements and holding up proceedings, but it cannot block a major EU defense loan package or stop countries from spending more on their military budgets — two courses of action that will directly benefit Ukraine.
Still, with talks on the future of Ukraine unfolding day by day, the rest of the EU is looking for ways to signal support for Kyiv. On Tuesday, six northern countries urged the European Commission to find ways to help Ukraine join the EU more quickly. Kyiv got the green light to open membership negotiations last year, after Hungary dropped a veto, but the talks are yet to start.
Ministers and representatives from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, all of which are close to or share borders with Russia, called for “concrete proposals on how to decisively advance Ukraine’s accession process” in a letter seen by The Associated Press.
Sweden’s European Affairs Minister Jessica Rosencrantz told AP that supporting Ukraine’s journey to EU membership was “an investment in the security of our entire continent.”
Joining the EU typically takes years or even decades of difficult reforms, though European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has suggested Kyiv could possibly join by the end of the decade.
In Hungary, Orbán has threatened to block Ukraine's membership, and he is planning to hold a public opinion survey on whether the country should be allowed in. Enlargement decisions require unanimity, which has seen other EU membership bids, notably Turkey's, grind to a halt.
Future U.S. support for Kyiv is far from certain following a bust-up between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
At a gathering of far-right EU politicians on the eve of the summit, Orbán said he does not support giving money to keep Ukraine fighting. “In our understanding, there is one simple mission to be done by the European Union: to support Donald Trump, President Donald Trump’s efforts to make peace,” he said.
While EU leaders ponder long-term measures to back Kyiv, it is the United States that is shaping the course of the conflict. Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle to a limited ceasefire after Trump spoke to both presidents, though it remains to be seen when and how it might take effect.
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AP Journalist Sylvie Corbet contributed.
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