Hungary will unblock Ukraine's European integration without Kyiv immediately meeting its demands – Politico
The Hungarian government has signaled a radical shift in its foreign policy and made it clear to its European partners that it will no longer block the launch of formal accession negotiations for Ukraine and Moldova to join the European Union. This is despite the fact that the dialogue under the special 11-point plan, developed during Viktor Orbán’s government, has not yet yielded results.
Positive developments occurred after Hungary’s new Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who took office in May 2026 following the historic victory of the opposition Tisa Party, made a working visit to Brussels. During meetings with senior EU officials, the Hungarian leader discussed ways to resolve differences and unfreeze €16.4 billion in European funds for his country, while also expressing his willingness to hold direct talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The main prerequisite for lifting the Hungarian veto was a constructive dialogue between Ukrainian and Hungarian experts on ensuring the rights of the Hungarian national minority living in Ukraine. During intergovernmental consultations on June 1, the Ukrainian side assured its partners that it has a clear and rapid process for resolving most of the contentious issues, which had previously been outlined in an 11-point special plan developed during the term of Viktor Orbán’s previous government. European diplomats confirm that while some technical requirements cannot be met immediately, the current position of Péter Magyar’s government no longer links the approval of the negotiating framework to the immediate adoption and entry into force of new Ukrainian legislation regarding Hungarians.
At the same time, Hungarian diplomatic circles, speaking on condition of anonymity, remain somewhat cautious in their public comments, noting that as of now, the official final agreement is still in the process of being finalized and the decision has not yet been legally formalized. Ambassadors from EU member states plan to finalize and approve a unified position on opening the first negotiation cluster for Ukraine and Moldova by the end of this week—immediately after Kyiv presents its updated plans for domestic reforms and a roadmap for the protection of national minorities in detail. If a consensus is reached, the official launch of the intergovernmental conference to open the cluster will take place in Luxembourg on June 15, 2026, which will require the unanimous support of all 27 EU member states.
This was reported by Politico, citing diplomatic sources within EU institutions.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has stated his readiness to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy early next week. The main condition for holding this high-level meeting is the final resolution of the issue regarding the fundamental rights of the Hungarian national minority in Ukraine.
Hungary’s new Prime Minister Péter Magyar has made high-profile statements regarding the situation of the Hungarian national minority in Ukraine and the European Union’s future economic relations with the Russian Federation.
The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Hungary, Andriy Sibiga and Anita Orbán, held their first face-to-face meeting on May 22. During the talks in Helsingborg, the parties agreed to hold a second round of expert-level consultations next week to further discuss bilateral issues.
