Polish support for Ukraine's EU bid is eroding
Nationalist Karol Nawrocki, who won the election on June 1 with 50.89% of the vote and was backed by the ultraconservative Law and Justice party (PiS), pledged during the campaign to oppose Ukraine's accession to the EU. One week after the election, in his first interview with a foreign media outlet – namely Mandiner, a newspaper close to Fidesz, the party of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban – he declared that "Poland and Hungary must defend their interests with regard to Ukraine." On June 30, he nuanced his position, stating that Ukraine must meet European expectations and standards before being considered for accession, which is precisely the aim of accession negotiations – a process that typically takes years.
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