A leading supporter of Ukraine since Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022, Poland failed to leverage its presidency of the Council of the European Union, which ended on June 30, to bring Kyiv closer to Brussels. In December 2024, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk had hoped to open at least one chapter of negotiations for Ukraine's entry into the EU and claimed, "If it were up to Poland, the process would last only one day." That did not happen. These steps, which are essential to accession, require unanimous agreement from all member states, and Hungary has made no secret of its opposition to the project. The prospect became even more complicated with the election in Poland of a president who has taken a very ambivalent stance on the issue.

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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