The European Union is still very far from enlargement, including joining the community of Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said at a press conference following the EU summit in Brussels.
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“We are very far from a real EU enlargement that includes Ukraine. In any case, whatever this enlargement may be, it will require a deep reform of our rules. This will only be possible with either a significant increase in funding or by replacing existing mechanisms and rules,” – he said.
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Answering a question about the risks for the EU agricultural industry, the French leader assured that the accession of the former Soviet republic would not harm local farmers.
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“I am committed to European sovereignty in terms of agriculture, we will continue to defend it and maintain our production capacity,” Macron said.
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In addition, the head of state called the start of negotiations on Ukraine’s admission to the EU a political decision, adding that it will receive legal significance only after the opening of the intergovernmental conference.
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According to him, the coming months are decisive both for the European Union and for Hungary, which will not block the decision of other countries.
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“I expect from Viktor Orban, whose opinion and interests have been taken into account, that he will behave in a European way and will not undermine political progress,” the president emphasized.
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At the same time, Macron clarified that Ukraine’s accession to the European Union will be possible only if its authorities fulfill all the necessary conditions, “and if this does not happen, negotiations will not begin.”
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He also expressed hope that by February discussions on allocating funding to Kyiv would go easier.
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The day before, the leaders of the EU countries decided to begin negotiations on the membership of Ukraine and Moldova, and also granted the status of a candidate country to Georgia. A source in Brussels said that the Hungarian leader “temporarily left the hall where the voting took place.”
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Orban himself later said that his country had not changed its position and would not share “this bad decision” with other countries. According to him, now Budapest is not losing anything, and in the future it will be able to stop the process of admitting Ukraine 75 more times.
