Navracsics on Ukraine and the EU elections

Hungary’s chief EU negotiator who spent four years in Brussels as a member of the European Commission does not expect sharp changes from next year’s European parliamentary Elections.

In an interview with Magyar Nemzet, Regional Development Minister Tibor Navracsics thinks Ukraine is ‘not ripe’ to join the European Union. The country’s economic indicators, he explains, are far below the EU average and if it joined today, it would use up most of the EU development funds. In addition, Navracsics adds, while the international community recognizes Ukraine’s claim to the occupied parts of its territory, Ukraine cannot be sure about either its territorial extent or the size of its population at the time it would join the community.

As for the European Parliamentary elections in June next year, Mr Navracsics expects the People’s Party to get more seats than its competitors. The EPP, he believes, will have to decide whether to ally themselves with the Left and the Liberals as until now – or with the conservatives who will probably gain more support than before. At any rate, he remarks, the composition of the European Commission as well as the key decisions within the Union mainly depend on the European Council rather than the European Parliament. Therefore, he doesn’t expect the elections to produce a radical political shift in the European Union.

Tags: EU, Navracsics, Ukraine