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The decision posed yet another challenge to the EU’s strategy to accelerate the accession of Ukraine and Moldova. European officials told Euronews that in July, EU member states intend to consider opening Chapter 6, which deals with external relations, and Chapter 2, which focuses on the internal market. The remaining areas of negotiation may be postponed to a later date.
The adjustment to the plans came after Hungary refused to sign the documents necessary to open the new clusters. Budapest believes that the enlargement process should not turn into a fast-tracked EU accession for Ukraine.
Ukraine and Moldova had previously been able to begin negotiations on Cluster 1—“Fundamentals.” This marked the first step forward after a two-year hiatus caused by the Hungarian veto.
Further progress now once again depends on reaching unanimity among all 27 EU member states.
Ukraine is asking for the process to be accelerated
Until recently, the European Commission had expected to open all six negotiation clusters within the coming months. European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos stated that Ukraine is technically ready to begin negotiations on all fronts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also urged the EU not to slow down the process and stated that Kyiv is ready to open the remaining five clusters in the coming weeks.
However, following objections from Hungary, Brussels had to change its plan. After the EU leaders’ summit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated only that the goal remains to open “more clusters before the summer.”
According to one EU representative involved in the negotiations, the issues could be resolved by July, but the initial goal has become less realistic.
Magyar: “EU enlargement is not a race for speed”
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar stated that Budapest does not support the automatic opening of all remaining clusters immediately after the first phase of negotiations.
According to him, wording regarding the opening of all remaining clusters with Ukraine “as soon as possible” was removed from the summit’s final document.
“We removed a lot from the text to avoid any direct suggestion that now that the first cluster has been opened, all the others will suddenly follow suit. We don’t think that’s a good idea,” Magyar told reporters.
The Hungarian side also points to the need to take into account the interests of the Western Balkan countries—Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, and Serbia—which have been making progress toward EU membership for years.
“Enlargement is not a race for speed, but a merit-based process,” Magyar said.
Budapest has also raised the issue of the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine once again. Márton Hajdú, chairman of the Hungarian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, told Euronews that Kyiv must make progress in resolving these issues.
“There is nothing new about Hungary’s position on this. Hungary supported the opening of the first negotiation cluster with Ukraine and Moldova, and now we need to work on reforms,” he said.
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