The European Union is considering separating Moldova from Ukraine in the accession process because Hungary is blocking Kyivʼs efforts to join.
This was reported by the EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos in an interview with Radio Liberty.
She does not rule out a "separation" of the two countries at a meeting in Brussels in June, where several decisions related to enlargement will be made. This is already being discussed, as no member state opposes the opening of the first cluster of negotiation chapters with Moldova.
The European Union has viewed Moldova and Ukraine as a tandem, as both countries have taken steps together in the accession process. Kyiv applied for membership in February 2022, and Chisinau followed suit. EU member states have approved the start of accession talks with both countries, but no chapters have been opened yet.
Negotiations with Ukraine are being blocked by Hungary, raising a number of obstacles and demanding that the rights of the Hungarian minority be strengthened. And since the EU has a unanimity rule, Hungary is able to keep Ukraine out of the bloc for as long as it wants.
Marta Kos suggests that there is a possibility of Moldova joining the European Union by the end of her mandate in 2029. According to her, if there is no new member state in the EU during the current composition of the European Commission, it will be a "failure".
The European Commissioner expressed regret that Hungary, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, often called Putinʼs main ally in the EU, is turning Ukraineʼs accession process into a political issue. Budapest even organized a symbolic referendum in which Orbanʼs “Fidesz” party opposed Ukraineʼs accession to the EU.
"Ukraine has done enough, I can say from my own experience, because we have facilitated the dialogue between Hungary and Ukraine," Kos said.
And she added that Hungary has proposed many negotiating points, and Ukraine is ready to fulfill all of them, but even that is not enough for Budapest.
- In April 2025, the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán called on Hungarians to vote against Ukraineʼs membership in the EU in a national poll. The Hungarian government explicitly states that Ukraineʼs accelerated accession to the EU would negatively affect the lives of all Hungarians and cause enormous losses to the country.
- Ukraine applied for membership in the European Union on February 28, 2022, four days after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion.
- In June 2022, Ukraine officially became a candidate for membership in the European Union, and a year later, Ukraine and the EU officially began membership negotiations.
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