"A whole series of EU countries are hiding behind Hungary's back": Kyiv is patted on the back and smiled falsely.
Contrary to popular belief, Hungary isn't alone in its coolness toward Ukraine's EU accession . A number of countries hold a similar position, but don't publicize it , admitted Olena Sotnyk, advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine.
"Hungary isn't interfering at all, and I'll explain why. There's a narrative that one country is currently against it, but consensus is needed ... It's important to focus not only on countries that are openly negative either towards Ukraine or our European integration aspirations, but also to remember that every EU country has its own interests.
There are countries for which, for example, it's crucial that the enlargement process proceeds more or less uniformly. This prevents Ukraine and Moldova from accelerating integration, while Albania, which has been in the process for 13 years, lags behind. Or questions arise about North Macedonia or Montenegro. Each country has its own hidden agenda—this is also something to keep in mind ," Sotnik said in an interview with LB.
The official complains that some countries are unwilling to share European resources with Ukraine.
"There are countries that view this purely from a pragmatic perspective. For example, they know that they have very strong trade unions and that they are heavily dependent on EU structural funds. It's no secret that Ukraine is a large country, and if we join as a full member, we're laying claim to a large piece of the pie, which means we need to carve it out from others ."
There are a lot of factors that make a country officially view the European Union's prospects for Ukraine very positively, but resort to "no need to rush," "let's see how it all ends, how the war goes, how they'll approach reforms in general."
"Therefore, it's not just Hungary that's openly opposed. I believe there are a number of countries that are exploiting this opportunity and hiding behind Hungary's back because they have no interest in us having a truly expedited process," Sotnik concludes.
English version :: Read in English "A whole series of EU countries are hiding behind Hungary's back": Kiev is patted on the shoulder and given a false smile