Ireland hopes new Budapest government will facilitate Ukraine's EU membership

Published on 12/05/2026 - 12:00 GMT+2

Speaking unrecorded connected Euronews' greeting amusement Europe Today, Ireland's curate of authorities for EU Affairs and Defence Thomas Byrne said that Ukraine remains “very beardown and guardant successful people’s minds successful Europe.”

His comments travel arsenic EU defence ministers conscionable successful Brussels to sermon Russia’s ongoing penetration of Ukraine and the struggle successful the Middle East.

“The question is however bash we champion assistance Ukraine,” Byrne said. “Whether it’s proviso of subject material, whether it is done sanctions connected Russia, whether it’s done bid talks oregon so the enlargement of the European Union.”

Ireland volition instrumentality implicit the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union successful July — a relation expected to enactment Dublin astatine the bosom of talks to extremity the warfare successful Ukraine.

EU officials are preparing a 21st bundle of sanctions against Russia, contempt increasing statement among subordinate states implicit whether these measures are capable to alteration the Kremlin’s course.

“We’ve got done 20 packages,” Byrne told Europe Today. “Those sanctions person had an interaction connected the Russian economy, rather a important impact. They intelligibly haven’t ended the war, but I deliberation we request to proceed putting unit connected Russia and so connected its radical successful bid that they tin someway enactment unit connected Vladimir Putin.”

The contented of nonstop engagement with Moscow has returned to the docket aft renewed discussions astir imaginable bid talks. Byrne signalled that Ireland would enactment diplomatic contacts if they could lend to ending the war.

“We’ve supported erstwhile idiosyncratic leaders person contacted Vladimir Putin successful the past,” helium said. “We deliberation it is important to let that dialog to instrumentality spot if it’s going to extremity the war.”

However, Byrne stopped abbreviated of pinpointing a peculiar envoy to beryllium appointed to prosecute straight with the Russian president, describing it arsenic “a information for different day.”

The curate besides welcomed a breakthrough successful Brussels connected sanctions targeting Israeli settlers accused of unit successful the occupied West Bank. The determination became imaginable aft Hungary’s caller authorities dropped its erstwhile opposition.

“I deliberation it’s very, precise invited that Hungary has changed its presumption connected this,” Byrne said. “Nobody disagrees with this present astir the European table.”

He hinted the governmental displacement successful Budapest could person wider implications for EU policy, peculiarly regarding Ukraine’s accession process.

“The Hungarian authorities up to present has blocked the opening of accession talks formally with Ukraine, and that’s thing we’d similar to spot change,” Byrne said.

Asked astir Ireland’s lack from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest amid contention surrounding Israel’s participation, Byrne stressed that the determination was made independently by Ireland’s nationalist broadcaster RTÉ and not by the government.

“We're not Hungary. We don't get progressive successful telling the media what to bash successful Ireland,” helium insisted. “The independency of RTÉ is thing that has been captious and cardinal to our ideology implicit the decades.

Watch the afloat interrogation successful the subordinate above.