"There is no chance to start negotiations without preconditions": Orban shows no willingness to compromise on Ukraine before EU summit

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban showed no signs of readiness to compromise on Ukraine's EU accession as he arrived at the summit on Thursday morning, Politico reports, UNN writes.

"If you have not fulfilled the preconditions, there is no chance to start negotiations," he told reporters.

"But Georgia is fine, everything is done," he said with a laugh.

The newspaper notes that the Hungarian leader is strongly opposed to the start of accession talks with Ukraine, despite numerous attempts by EU leaders to influence his opinion. On Thursday, he said that Ukraine still has to fulfill three of the seven preconditions set by the European Commission and that negotiations cannot begin until it does so.

"Enlargement is not a theoretical issue. It is a merit-based, legally detailed process that has preconditions," Orban said.

"We have to come back later, to return to this issue when (the preconditions) are fulfilled by the Ukrainians," he said before leaving.

As a reminder,

European Council President Charles Michel was reportedly due to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban "to try to find a way forward" the morning before the EU summit, where Budapest's position is seen as a major potential obstacle to decisions on Ukraine. 

During today's meeting of EU leaders, all eyes will be on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who threatened to disrupt the summit before the leaders met. In two letters to European Council President Charles Michel and in public comments, Orban expressed his opposition to the expected decisions on a €50 billion long-term aid package for Ukraine, as well as to opening the door to future EU membership.