Hungary’s continued veto slows Ukraine’s EU accession process

EU member states have once again failed to advance Ukraine’s accession process amid continued resistance from Hungary.

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At a meeting of the Council’s Working Party on Enlargement and Countries Negotiating Accession to the EU (COELA) on Tuesday, Hungary’s representative maintained the veto first introduced last week, which consisted of opening a new negotiating cluster with Ukraine covering the internal market and competition policy.

Hungary opposed the opening, despite support from a large number of member states and the European Commission.

Hungary did not extend its veto to Moldova, whose accession process is being handled jointly with Ukraine’s, clearing the way for cluster three to open on that front. However, other member states are reluctant to decouple the two candidate countries, whose accession tracks remain formally linked.

Budapest is conditioning further progress on Ukraine’s EU bid on the implementation of pledged guarantees for the rights of Ukraine’s Hungarian minority — a position it made explicit last week, when it vetoed the opening of the two clusters.

Hungarian and Ukrainian officials held talks over the summer on the rights of the Hungarian-speaking minority, during which Kyiv committed to safeguarding its educational, cultural and linguistic rights. Budapest is now pressing for those commitments to be put into practice.

In a statement on Monday, Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orbán said progress had been made on this front, noting that work had begun on drafting new education legislation.

Earlier, Hungary had approved the opening of two negotiating chapters with Ukraine, covering fundamental rights and external relations.

The move underscores a shift in Budapest’s approach to Ukraine’s EU ambitions. Whereas the previous government under Viktor Orbán categorically blocked any progress on Kyiv’s membership bid, the new government led by Péter Magyar has shown greater flexibility — while still opposing any fast-tracked accession.