MEP: Hungary stands to gain from Ukraine’s EU accession

This was stated by Petras Austrevicius, a Member of the European Parliament, in an interview with Ukrinform.

“Frankly, it is much in the Hungarian interest to see Ukraine in the EU. If we look at the European Union’s history, all countries benefited from their neighbors becoming members or in one or another way engaging more effectively in cooperation with the European Union. Economically, it's a huge win-win,” the MEP said.

In his view, economically speaking, this is “absolutely mutually beneficial.” Austrevicius explained that this is precisely why there are so many cross-border cooperation programs in the EU, “because we understand this principle very well.”

Assessing the prospects for normalizing bilateral relations between Ukraine and Hungary, Austrevicius expressed hope that these would be “very sincere relationship that will benefit both parties, which indeed expressed interest for normalizing and probably expanding bilateral cooperation.”

He believes that the parties need to organize, among other things, closed-door discussions before presenting a coordinated position on specific issues to the public.

“Still, there are some sensitivities based on some historical prejudice. And we know how slowly they die out. So that's why it's not just only politicians’ work. I'm looking forward to people from the field of culture, some acclaimed public figures coming out to talk, building more bridges - cultural, historical, cross-border – to make a natural pathway for politicians,” the MEP stated.

He added that the European Union is ready to contribute to these efforts.

“The whole region would contribute and benefit definitely much more from sincere and efficient Hungarian-Ukrainian cooperation, let alone the geopolitical, geostrategic situation,” Austrevicius concluded.

As reported by Ukrinform, Austrevicius believes that Hungary’s new government should align with the EU’s common position on strengthening sanctions pressure on Russia and not obstruct the adoption of the 20th sanctions package.