{"id":901175,"date":"2026-04-17T18:43:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T18:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/901175\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T18:43:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T18:43:17","slug":"where-does-hungarys-election-leave-eu-enlargement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/901175\/","title":{"rendered":"Where does Hungary\u2019s election leave EU enlargement?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The many problems that the European Union\u00a0may have had with Hungary\u2019s membership under the right-wing populist Viktor Orb\u00e1n have not gone away \u2013 even following his astonishing defeat in the recent election in Hungary.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen\u2019s\u00a0vision of a 30-plus European Union<\/a>,\u00a0which includes Ukraine and former Soviet satellite countries, is disappearing in the rear-view mirror.<\/p>\n

According to Politico, there is a very real fear among many EU diplomats\u00a0of another pro-Putin \u2018Trojan horse\u2019 \u2013 wielding vetoes, raising objections and disruptions should the expansion begin to take place. These diplomats are understandably reluctant to go public with their concerns, but, nonetheless, are\u00a0quietly making it known they are not happy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One concern\u00a0with expanding the EU is that it will involve countries becoming involved in negotiations which could provide a vehicle for\u00a0pro-Putin (and\u00a0pro-Trump) meddling and interference.<\/p>\n

But the immediate concern is the fast-tracking of Ukraine into the EU.<\/p>\n

Even though P\u00e9ter Magyar ended 16 years of Orb\u00e1n rule, Magyar is\u00a0still\u00a0on the political right, and it is expected that he will maintain Hungary\u2019s opposition to\u00a0Ukraine being fast-tracked into the EU<\/a>. During the\u00a0election\u00a0campaign, he had said he didn\u2019t want any \u2018fast tracks\u2019 for Ukraine membership.<\/p>\n

Enlargement off the agenda for EU Cyprus Summit<\/strong><\/p>\n

EU enlargement was set to be an agenda item at the EU Summit to be held in Cyprus in late April but\u00a0it is now unlikely to be discussed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnlargement must remain demanding and merit-based to ensure its success and credibility\u201d said France\u2019s minister delegate for European affairs, Benjamin Haddad, indicating that the EU may have learned from \u2019nodding through\u2019 candidate countries for geo-political reasons.<\/p>\n

The Orb\u00e1n years have been a chastening experience for the EU. Orb\u00e1n is a politician willing to do Putin and Trump\u2019s bidding with a veto, ready to undermine policies while taking the benefits of EU membership.<\/p>\n

There is also a fear in western European countries of an influx of cheaper labour from candidate countries. \u201cThe same semi-populist, semi-xenophobic arguments we heard about the Poles\u00a0[dubbed \u2018the Polish plumber debate\u2019 in 2004]\u00a0\u2013 we are likely to hear with the Ukrainians and any other candidate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are these people? What are they going to be doing in our club? Will they be coming to take our jobs?, a diplomat from a mid-size EU\u00a0country commented to Politico, on condition of anonymity<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Candidate countries need wider EU agreement<\/strong><\/p>\n

The concern is highest in France which, by law, would have to hold a referendum on admitting a new member state. The political left in France argues that a vote on Ukraine joining the EU could feed into the campaigning of populist right-wing\u00a0Rassemblement National (National Rally) party\u00a0leader Jordan Bardella<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There are also fears in Germany, the Netherlands and Italy which\u00a0now argue that the EU\u2019s strenuous \u2018merit-based\u2019 tests must be respected \u2013 with no exceptions for geopolitical reasons.<\/p>\n

Insiders say the EU now has to be \u2018Hungary-proofed\u2019 by denying veto powers to new members for several years following admission.<\/p>\n

This is bad news not just for Ukraine, but\u00a0also for Montenegro<\/a> which is said to have completed the laborious steps needed to become a new member, yet the mandate to start drafting the accession treaty is being pushed back. It is believed to be the candidate country whose accession negotiations are the furthest advanced but, \u201cit\u2019s still in negotiations\u201d, say EU diplomats.<\/p>\n

Despite pressure by\u00a0Sweden and Denmark<\/a>, among others, to get Ukraine fast-tracked, the EU will need agreement from the big western EU countries. \u201cWe\u2019re not there yet,\u201d said a senior EU official.<\/p>\n

Currently the EU recognises Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine as being\u00a0candidate countries<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kosovo is formally considered a \u201cpotential candidate\u201d. Turkey has \u201cfrozen status\u201d, although Turkey\u2019s application for candidate status was\u00a0originally made in 1999<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Spotlight on the UK\u2019<\/strong>s position<\/strong><\/p>\n

The membership question also shines a spotlight on the UK.<\/p>\n

Starmer\u2019s step-by-step approach, using Labour\u2019s massive majority to do so, has been one of strengthening ties with the EU. Now, the proposed EU bill,\u00a0using Henry-VIII-style powers<\/a>, aims to push on with revising the Brexit deal and nudging the UK nearer to alignment with the EU.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is already facing opposition from Reform, the Tories, the Express, the Daily\u00a0Mail,\u00a0The Sun, The Telegraph, GB News and other expected quarters. With closer alignment with the EU likely to feature in the King\u2019s\u00a0Speech,\u00a0cries of \u2018betrayal\u2019 already abound in the right wing media.<\/p>\n

The polls regularly show that \u2018buyers\u2019 remorse\u2019 is growing in the UK<\/a> over Brexit, that a growing majority think Brexit damaged the country<\/a>, and that a new generation of voters (who did not take part in the Brexit vote)\u00a0are\u00a0pro-EU membership<\/a>. Despite all this, the Government\u2019s plan is bound to breathe life into the corpses of Brexiters. Expect to see\u00a0Jacob\u00a0Rees-Mogg, Lord Frost, and assorted Reformers on your screens as the drama unfolds.<\/p>\n

Time for Starmer to hold his nerve<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starmer will have to hold his nerve in the face of a media onslaught and a probable legal challenge. He will have to do some\u00a0coalition-building to drive closer alignment through.<\/p>\n

That coalition must include the largely pro-EU trade unions, employers\u2019 lobbies, and nervy back bench Labour MPs\u00a0in order\u00a0to face down Reform, the Tories, right-wing media, racists and \u2018little Englanders\u2019. Trump will doubtless try to influence things by using his favourite tool of\u00a0tariff\u00a0threats.<\/p>\n

There is also the concern of many influential institutions in the EU which are still fearful of \u2018Brexit revisited\u2019 with the UK media and politically right-wing parties turning it into a shitshow: something they they thought, and hoped, they had seen the back of.<\/p>\n

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