Hungary again blocks negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU
It is stalling for time until the EU presidency passes to Budapest, which will allow the talks to be rescheduled
The Hungarian authorities continue to block the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union, despite the desire of EU member states to start talks at the end of June.
Source. This was reported by Bloomberg.
According to sources familiar with the situation, the EU intends to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the Union on 25 June.
Belgium, which will hold the EU presidency until the end of June, insists on starting negotiations during its term of office.
But on 1 July, Budapest will take over the EU presidency, and the talks may be postponed to a later date.
Hungary is blocking the decision to start talks between Kyiv and the EU, citing concerns over the situation of Hungarian minorities in western Ukraine.
According to sources familiar with the situation, Kyiv has fulfilled Budapest's demands. In March, the European Commission proposed a negotiation framework if the EU approves Ukraine's application submitted in December.
According to Bloomberg, if Hungary and other EU countries approve the talks, it could take years to consider Ukraine's membership in the union. For example, Croatia, the last country to join the EU, applied in 2003 and was able to become a member only in 2013.
At the end of last year, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he was against negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU. According to him, Kyiv is not ready to join the union, as Ukraine does not meet the EU accession criteria.
Ukraine applied for EU membership immediately after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. On 8 November, the European Commission recommended starting negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on EU accession.
However, Brussels stressed that the talks should officially begin after Kyiv fulfils the remaining conditions for the accession process. In particular, Kyiv should strengthen the fight against corruption, adopt a law on lobbying in line with European standards, and strengthen guarantees for national minorities.
Background. Recently, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said that Hungary blocks 41% of all decisions regarding Ukraine. A number of European ministers called for counteracting this, otherwise ‘we will just get stuck and be ineffective,’ Landsbergis said.
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