Hungary's European Affairs Minister Janos Boka said on May 27 that it is difficult to lead constructive negotiations with Ukraine on its EU accession, as Kyiv is allegedly conducting "information and intelligence" operations on Hungary's territory.
The statement comes after the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on May 9 that it had dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast, detaining two agents accused of espionage against the Ukrainian state.
The Hungarian government denied the accusation as a smear campaign and instead declared it had exposed two Ukrainian spies operating in Hungary. The controversy has put a further strain on an already fragile bilateral relationship.
Talking to journalists ahead of the EU General Affairs Council in Brussels on May 2, Boka said that constructive negotiations on Ukraine's entry to the EU would be difficult in this context.
Hungary, whose government is widely regarded as the most Russian-friendly in the EU, has been blocking the opening of accession negotiation clusters with Kyiv. After the scandal broke out, Budapest announced it is suspending talks with Ukraine on national minority rights, long presented by Hungary as the main roadblock in accession negotiations.
Budapest has repeatedly accused Kyiv of discriminating against the Hungarian ethnic minority concentrated in southwestern Zakarpattia Oblast, an accusation that the Ukrainian leadership denies. Much of these disputes center around Ukraine's language laws that require at least 70% of education above the fifth grade to be conducted in Ukrainian.
In turn, Kyiv has long accused Budapest of undermining Ukraine's sovereignty through political interference and dual citizenship schemes. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has also consistently obstructed sanctions against Russia and military aid for Ukraine within the EU.
Amid the escalating controversy, Orban has also accused Ukraine of meddling in Hungary's internal affairs and colluding with the Hungarian political opposition.
The agenda of the May 27 meeting in Brussels includes the possibility of stripping Hungary of its voting rights as the EU is looking for ways to override Budapest if it vetoes Ukraine's accession.
This will be the eighth hearing regarding Hungary since the European Parliament triggered Article 7 procedures against the country in 2018. Article 7 of the EU Treaty allows for the suspension of Council voting rights if a member state consistently breaches EU founding principles.
Martin Fornusek
(Updated: )
