Hungary blocks next steps toward Ukraine’s EU accession, Politico reports
Photo: Péter Magyar (Getty Images)
Hungary has blocked an important procedural step required to open the next negotiation clusters in Ukraine and Moldova's EU accession talks, Politico reports.
Hungary turned out to be the only country that opposed a joint letter from the European Council and the European Commission. The document set out a coordinated position of the 27 EU member states on further steps of European integration.
Ukraine had aimed to open all six negotiation clusters by mid-July. However, due to the Hungarian position, it will be significantly harder to meet this timeline.
According to European diplomats, the Hungarian government generally agreed to open the first cluster. However, Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar insisted that references to Kyiv’s membership in the EU "as soon as possible" be removed from official documents.
Ukraine’s EU accession
On June 15, Ukraine opened the first of six negotiation clusters. The remaining clusters are expected to be opened by the end of July or within the next six months. At the same time, one of the most optimistic scenarios sees Ukraine joining the EU by 2030.
Meanwhile, a number of EU member states are expressing reservations about future EU enlargement. In particular, Polish President Karol Nawrocki recently said that Ukraine’s accession could create additional challenges for Poland’s agricultural sector.
It was also previously reported that Péter Magyar succeeded in removing a reference to Ukraine’s accelerated EU accession from the EU summit’s final statement.
