Magyar: Ukraine's accession to EU could take 15–20 years

It is difficult to estimate when Ukraine could join the European Union, and accession negotiations may take 15–20 years, Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said ahead of a meeting of the EU Council, according to Report's European bureau.

"I don't think the timeline can be determined, nor is there any need to do so. We believe in merit-based accession," Magyar said in response to a question about the possible timeline for Ukraine's EU membership.

He noted that some Western Balkan countries had been seeking to join the European Union for 15 years but had made less progress towards membership than expected. He also cited Türkiye as an example, noting that it had been seeking EU membership for decades.

Magyar also opposed interim or parallel forms of membership, stressing that he supported only full EU membership.

"This could take as long as 15 or 20 years," he noted.

Magyar said that the start of Ukraine's EU accession negotiations did not, in itself, guarantee membership. According to him, Ukraine was able to begin the negotiation process thanks to the approval of the previous Hungarian government led by Viktor Orbán.

Separately, Magyar identified the protection of the rights of the Hungarian national minority in Transcarpathia as one of the key issues to be discussed at his upcoming meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He said Hungary had requested guarantees regarding the minority's rights in education, language use and dealings with government authorities and, according to him, had received such assurances from the Ukrainian side.

Magyar added that the practical implementation of these commitments remained to be verified.

He said he expected to meet Zelenskyy on the morning of Friday, October 16, in Brussels, where the EU Council meeting would continue. He expressed hope that the meeting would open a new chapter in relations between the two countries.