Most Hungarians Support Ukraine's Euro-Integration - Survey.

Hungarians Have Started Voting on Ukraine's EU Membership

Ukraine has started the voting of Viktor Orban's government regarding its EU membership. During this, governmental propaganda was aimed at showcasing the negative consequences of Ukraine's accession to the EU. However, despite this, about 47% of Hungarians support Ukraine's accession to the EU through either expedited or regular procedures, while 46% oppose accession.

This is evidenced by the results of a survey published by the Republikon Institute at the request of the opposition portal Nepszava, reported by Polish Radio.

Previous surveys showed a reluctance of Hungarian society to support Ukraine's EU membership, but it turned out that the issue primarily concerned the possibilities of applying for the expedited procedure for membership, rather than the membership itself.

For expedited membership of Ukraine in the EU (i.e., within 3-4 years), 15% of respondents voted, and another approximately 33% stated that they would support Ukraine's EU membership if it occurred under normal conditions (7-10 years). Thus, in total, about 47% of those surveyed view the prospect of being in the EU together with Ukraine positively.

Almost as many (46%) expressed opposition. The authors of the survey suggest that if we do not consider respondents who were undecided, the ratio would be 51:49 in favor of supporters of Ukraine's EU membership. This contradicts the campaign conducted by the Hungarian government.

At the beginning of March, Orban stated that he intends to organize a referendum in Hungary on Ukraine's EU membership to learn the opinion of citizens on this matter.

'I cannot support Ukraine until I know the opinion of Hungarians,' Orban said.

The referendum is expected to start in April and last until June, although specific dates have not yet been announced. Voting will not be mandatory, but merely advisory.