French President Emmanuel Macron has said that the European Union must offer "full and enduring support to Ukraine" ahead of a leaders' summit with fresh aid to Kyiv on the agenda.
Speaking alongside Slovenia's visiting Prime Minister Robert Golob in Paris on Wednesday, Macron told reporters both countries were "determined to support Ukraine for as long as it takes, in military, economic, humanitarian and diplomatic terms", adding that "our collective security is at stake".
Macron made the call, on the eve of a crucial summit in Brussels, for the EU to be "ready to provide full and lasting support for Ukraine".
This comes as Hungary is threatening to block key decisions for Kyiv that are on the summit's agenda, taking place on Thursday and Friday: the opening of EU membership negotiations and the approval of €50 billion in European aid – in the form of grants and loans – for the country.
EN DIRECT | Déclaration conjointe du Président @EmmanuelMacron et du Premier ministre de la Slovénie, Robert Golob. https://t.co/N5Niisjzut
— Élysée (@Elysee) December 13, 2023
Hungary defiant against Ukraine's accession
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban reiterated on Wednesday that opening accession negotiations would be "a terrible mistake," underlining that the expected release of European funds for Budapest would not change his mind.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's president Volodomyr Zelensky reacted to Orban's position, saying "[He] has no reason to block Ukrainian membership in the European Union."
"I asked him to tell me one reason why. Not three, not five, not 10. Tell me one reason," Zelensky said of his talks with Orban.
"I'm waiting for [an] answer," he told reporters in Oslo where he has been meeting with five Nordic leaders.
Our position is based on one thing and one thing only: the will of the Hungarian people. https://t.co/M2be49B8xt
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) December 12, 2023
President Macron underlined, however, that "the discussions we will have tomorrow will be decisive," reiterating his position in favour of accession negotiations, accompanied by reforms to the way the EU operates to enable this new enlargement.
For Robert Golob, "the European summit is going to be difficult but very important".
"If we want this enlargement to be effective, we need internal reforms," he agreed.
