Fidesz MEP Tamás Deutsch told a European Parliament plenary in Strasbourg on Wednesday that fast-tracking Ukraine into the EU is not about enlargement or peace, but about Brussels being directly involved in the war.

Deutsch said Brussels bureaucrats were "forcing the war doctrine" and were "not bothered about the fate of Ukrainians". Rather, they assumed the mantle of a "great power" and wanted a military victory "at any cost". Yet Europeans wanted peace and rejected Ukraine's fast-tracked EU accession "with disastrous economic consequences", he said, noting that Hungary is holding a referendum to gauge people's opinion on the matter.

Fidesz MEP Kinga Gál also addressed the plenary, noting that the EU has financed Ukraine to the tune of more than 150 billion euros while "hundreds of thousands have died" on the battlefield. "This is the failed balance sheet" of Europe's strategy, she said.

The EU must take action to secure a ceasefire and a lasting peace while supporting diplomatic efforts aimed accordingly, she said.

Gál said left-liberal and EPP politicians had hijacked the legitimate goal of developing European defence capabilities to give Ukraine "even more weapons and money", while this was against Europe's interests.

Neither was it in Europe's interests to give Ukraine EU membership by 2030 purely for political reasons, she said, adding that opening the country to the EU's internal market before it met accession conditions was equally unacceptable.