Brussels is pushing Kiev's bid despite the costs, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned

Ukraine would be a huge drain on EU resources if it became a member of the bloc, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned. He accused officials in Brussels of attempting to force the issue despite the cost.

Orban, a long-standing opponent of fast-tracking Kiev's membership bid, launched a nationwide consultation in April asking Hungarians whether they wanted Ukraine to join the bloc.

"For Brussels, Ukrainian accession is a vital issue: political damage control and good business in the midst of a losing war," Orban wrote on Tuesday on Facebook, encouraging citizens to take part in the poll.

"But this business is going to cost European families," he added. "Ukraine would suck up every euro, forint and zloty that we have spent on strengthening European families, European farmers and European industry."

Orban said he would "protect Hungary and the European Union from the Brussels fever dream of Ukrainian accession."

Ukraine declared joining the EU and NATO as strategic objectives following the 2014 Western-backed armed uprising in Kiev. Both blocs have publicly supported the efforts. The EU granted Ukraine candidate status in June 2022 after the escalation of its conflict with Russia earlier that year. Critics contend that the decision downplayed concerns about corruption and rule-of-law deficiencies in favor of sending a symbolic political message.

Russia has identified Ukraine's NATO ambitions as a key driver of the current hostilities. Russian officials also claim that the EU has evolved from an economic alliance into a military body comparable to the US-led NATO, which they view as a direct threat.

EU leaders have been exploring ways to bypass Hungary's veto power on foreign policy decisions, including support for Ukraine. One reported proposal involves replacing unanimous decision-making with qualified majority voting. Other options described in the media include legally redefining actions such as weapons transfers to Kiev and sanctions on Russia as matters not requiring full consensus.