Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán says Hungary will poll its citizens on Ukraine’s potential future membership in the European Union.

Poland has responded to the proposal by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to hold a referendum in Hungary on Ukraine's membership in the European Union, informs Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski on X.

PM says he will “collect the opinion of the people” in a mail-in campaign that critics have derided as a propaganda tool.

As a result, Orban could not be blackmailed, and he remained firm in his pro-peace stance at the EU summit, using his veto. Hungary did not support the EU sending more money and weapons to the war, which is why the other 26 member states could only adopt the proposal as a statement rather than a binding resolution.

His position has given the former Warsaw Pact nation — which has a population only slightly larger than New Jersey — an outsized role in European diplomacy.

Hungary remains steadfast for peace, the prime minister said following the EU summit. Viktor Orban announced that he would block the Ukraine aid package, a move which could save all of Europe by preventing the continuation of the war. And for this, the entire EU is furious.

While all EU leaders backed conclusions on bolstering European defence, the Hungarian prime minister has opted out of the statements on the bloc's ongoing support to Kyiv. View on euronews

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday welcomed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for talks at the Elysee Palace.