Orban threatens to block EU communiqué on Ukraine

Olena Onishchuk

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatened to block a joint statement by EU leaders in support of Ukraine following the March 6 summit.

Points of attention

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is preparing to block an EU communiqué in support of Ukraine due to strategic policy differences with the EU leaders.
Orban demands direct EU negotiations with Russia for a ceasefire and lasting peace in Ukraine, diverging from the current draft communiqué.
Orban's proposal includes limiting the written conclusions to a reference to UN Security Council Resolution 2774 (2025), which ignores Russian aggression.

Orban pressures the EU to support Ukraine

This is stated in Orban's letter dated March 1 to European Council President António Costa, which ended up in the possession of journalist Szabolcs Pani.

In Viktor Orban's letter to the President of the European Council, he stated "strategic differences" in policy towards Ukraine that "cannot be resolved by amendments or communications."

I am convinced that the EU, following the example of the US, should enter into direct negotiations with Russia on a ceasefire and lasting peace in Ukraine. This approach cannot be harmonized with what is reflected in the draft communiqué.

He continued that because of this, he proposes not even trying to adopt a joint written statement on Ukraine following the summit in its current form, and that this would show "a split in the EU."

Instead, I propose to limit the written conclusions to a reference to and support for UN Security Council Resolution 2774 (2025), adopted on February 24, 2025 (this is a resolution introduced by the USA, which does not mention the aggression of the Russian Federation). This resolution marks a new phase in the history of the conflict and makes all previously agreed formulations of the Council of Europe irrelevant.