“On terms that apply to everyone.” Tusk sided with Magyar on the issue of Ukraine's accelerated accession to the EU
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk acknowledged that at the European Council summit, he supported Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s position in insisting that the EU summit’s final document contain no reference to Ukraine’s accelerated accession to the European Union
The Polish prime minister made this statement at a press conference in Brussels while commenting on the Hungarian prime minister’s announcement that he had succeeded in removing from the document any mention of an accelerated path to EU integration for Ukraine, according to Ukrinform.
According to Tusk, Magyar explained his position at the European Council summit regarding the undesirability of Ukraine’s accelerated EU membership, given the domestic political situation in Hungary. “He said, ‘I’ve already unblocked the issue of Ukraine.’ ‘This is truly a historic turning point given the situation in his country,’ Tusk noted, adding that the Hungarians had not drastically changed their attitude toward Ukraine.
According to Tusk, all summit participants agreed with this position. “If we have recognized that Ukraine, the countries of the Western Balkans, and Moldova should have a clear prospect of membership in the European Union, then this process must be based on objective criteria,” said the Polish prime minister. “That is, they must fulfill all the requirements set forth in the accession procedure.”
According to Tusk, it is better not to include additional wording regarding accelerated accession in the documents, as this has no practical significance. “This is somewhat reminiscent of enthusiasm that is not backed by real possibilities,” the Polish prime minister emphasized.
He recalled that he had supported the launch of the negotiation process regarding Ukraine’s accession to the EU, but stressed that the rules must be the same for all candidate countries.
“Ukraine knows that my support for its European integration is absolutely sincere, but it will be carried out under the same conditions that apply to everyone,” stated the Polish prime minister.
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