Szijjártó: Ukraine cannot join the EU before Western Balkan countries

(Patria) - Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó today rejected "enormous pressures" from Brussels to prioritise Ukraine's accession to the EU.

Szijjártó insists that Ukraine cannot become an EU member before the Western Balkan countries.

Speaking at a conference with the Foreign Minister of North Macedonia, Szijjártó warned that Ukraine's membership could undermine the EU economically and security-wise.

He dismissed the idea that Ukraine is better prepared for membership than the Western Balkan countries, calling such claims "sheer nonsense."

No one can seriously claim that Ukraine is more prepared for EU membership than any Western Balkan country. That’s nonsense. Brussels pushing for Ukraine’s accession first is out of the question. I reassured @TimcoMucunski of Hungary’s clear position & support today in Budapest. pic.twitter.com/BOo7fGMaN8

— Péter Szijjártó (@FM_Szijjarto) March 24, 2025

Szijjártó also said that Hungary remains one of the strongest advocates of EU enlargement to the Western Balkans, stating that the integration of the region would strengthen the stability, credibility and future of the EU.

- The future credibility of the EU depends on whether we can finally fulfil the promise of enlargement to our closest neighbours - said Szijjártó, emphasising that some Western Balkan countries have been waiting for decades despite meeting key conditions.

The six Western Balkan countries - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo - are at different stages of the EU accession process.