Hungary’s EU membership is not a question, the EU could be a very useful platform for cooperation, but rather than strengthening the member states “what we see is the European Commission turning into a political commission”, EU affairs Minister János Bóka said in an interview published by Austrian daily Kurier. Speaking about the funds withheld from Hungary, Bóka called the issue politically motivated, insisting that there was no legal ground of the rule of law mechanism which therefore should have been closed against the country long ago. Asked about Hungary’s veto on Brussels starting accession talks with Ukraine, Bóka said that Ukraine had not met all of the seven criteria of being granted a candidate status. Concerning immigration, the minister referred to “two pillars” of Hungary’s position which include the protection of the EU’s external borders and a regime requiring the processing of asylum applications outside the EU. In connection with Gaza, Bóka said Hungary’s position was in line with that of the EU which is that states fighting against terrorism have the right to self-defence and the hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally.