The government of Viktor Orbán has launched a postal vote on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. According to Polskie Radio, the vote is taking place amid a government propaganda campaign aimed at highlighting the negative consequences of Ukraine joining the EU.
However, the results of a poll published on April 7 by the Republikon Institute show that overall, approximately 47% of Hungarians support Ukraine's accession to the EU either through an accelerated or regular procedure, while 46% are opposed.
Although previous surveys did show a reluctance within Hungarian society to support Ukraine's accession to the European Union, it turned out the hesitation mainly concerned the possibility of using an accelerated procedure, not accession itself.
15% of respondents supported Ukraine’s fast-track EU membership (i.e., within 3–4 years), while another 33% stated they would support Ukraine joining the EU if it followed the standard timeline (7–10 years). So, in total, about 47% of respondents view the prospect of being in the EU with Ukraine positively.
Almost the same number (46%) spoke out against it. The authors of the survey suggest that if undecided respondents are excluded, the ratio would be 51:49 in favor of Ukraine’s accession to the EU. This contradicts the campaign promoted by the Hungarian authorities.
In early March, Viktor Orbán announced he intends to organize a referendum in Hungary on Ukraine’s EU accession to determine the citizens’ opinion on the matter. “I cannot support Ukraine until I know the opinion of the Hungarian people”, - Orbán said.
The referendum was expected to start in April and run through June, although specific dates have not yet been announced. The postal vote will not be binding, only advisory.