Politico: Hungary blocked the opening of the next negotiation clusters for Ukraineʼs accession to the EU

Hungary has blocked a procedural step necessary to open the next negotiation clusters on Ukraine and Moldovaʼs accession to the European Union.

Politico reports this, citing two EU diplomats.

Ukraine had planned to open all six negotiation clusters by mid-July. However, meeting that schedule will be made more difficult by Hungaryʼs opposition to a joint letter from the European Council and the European Commission on behalf of the blocʼs 27 members outlining the EUʼs common position.

Politico writes that Hungary was the only country to oppose this initiative, but it will be discussed again next week.

As one of the European diplomats said, despite the fact that the new Prime Minister of Hungary, Peter Magyar, agreed to the opening of the first cluster, his government insisted on removing the words "as soon as possible" about Kyivʼs membership in the EU.

Last week, commenting on Ukraineʼs EU accession, the Hungarian said:

"There are six clusters in total, and we donʼt think itʼs a good idea to open them all at once, partly because the ink on the first one isnʼt even dry yet, and partly because it would send the wrong signal to the Western Balkan countries — Serbia, Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia — [who] have been working towards EU membership for years."

• On June 15, the EU opened the first negotiation cluster for Ukraine and Moldova. This decision was supported by all EU member states. There are six clusters in total. EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Cos said that the EU hopes to open all of them in July.
• After a change of government in Hungary, in June 2026, the country lifted its 17-month veto on Ukraineʼs accession to the EU.

Author: Khrystyna Pitsuriak

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