‘We need to give Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian President, something that he can take to his people next year, in 2027, which will allow them to see progress on this membership bid,’ POLITICO Chief EU Correspondent Zoya Sheftalovich has stated about Ukraine’s potential EU accession on a recent episode of the Brussels Playbook Podcast.
The EU, however, is not being forthcoming with its intentions as to Ukraine and its proposed membership, she went on to explain.
‘No one is saying this part out loud because of the Hungarian election. Cause they are very clear that nothing can happen before the election, and it’s not a threat that he [Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary] can use in his campaign.’
PM Orbán is running for his fifth consecutive, sixth overall term in office as a member of the right-wing Fidesz Party in the Hungarian parliamentary elections, set to take place on 12 April. Ukraine is the most prominent part of his current campaign messaging, with the emphasis on the detrimental effect the war-torn country’s potential membership in the European Union would cause to the Hungarian economy.
Based on the statements by POLITICO correspondent Sheftalovich, the Brussels leadership is well aware of that, and is purposely withholding key information from the public on the EU accession plans for Kyiv to help challenger Péter Magyar of the Tisza Party’s campaign.
She also claims the EU could begin the process of stripping Hungary of its voting rights in the EU Council if PM Orbán stays in power.
‘Brussels is purposely withholding key information from the public on the EU accession plans for Kyiv to help challenger Péter Magyar of the Tisza Party’s campaign in Hungary’
‘The EU is quietly exploring some pretty unconventional ways to bring Kyiv into the fold, as soon as maybe even next year…Step three is waiting for the Hungarian election…Step five, if everything else fails, then perhaps starting the process of stripping Hungary of its voting rights so that it can’t keep blocking Ukraine’s bid,’ Sheftalovich spelt it out on the major international news organization’s podcast.
Meanwhile, it is still unclear when elections can be held in Ukraine, the potential 28th Member State of the Union.
The Financial Times has reported that President Zelenskyy was going to announce the date of the next presidential election on 24 February. However, that claim has since been refuted by the Ukrainian President’s office, citing the war conditions that are still preventing elections or referendums from taking place in the country.
The latter is a crucial issue, as the Kyiv government often appeals to the country’s constitution, which does not allow territories to be handed to another nation through international treaties, only referendums. Thus, they are very much needed in any potential peace deal with Russia, since any such deal will certainly have to involve territorial concessions from Ukraine.
President Zelenskyy’s first term was set to end in May 2024.
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