Gergely Gulyás told a government press conference that Hungary stood in solidarity with Ukraine and the country extended significant financial and humanitarian support. “But this doesn’t change the fact that Ukraine has failed to fulfil the conditions to start EU accession talks,” he added, citing issues concerning national minorities and corruption and referring to decisions that had disadvantaged ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine. “We must state our agreement with former EU commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker who said that Ukraine’s accession would be a big mistake,” he said, adding that Juncker believed that “Ukraine is totally corrupt and not ready for EU membership.” Gulyás said that Hungary’s position concerning EU enlargement had been clear for a long time: ongoing enlargement procedures should be implemented first. Concerning EU support for Ukraine, Gulyás said taking out a joint loan would be unnecessary. Joint borrowing had been agreed on as a “one-off” when the recovery fund was decided on, he added.