The Hungarian Prime Minister Outlined His Conditions for Ukraine's EU Membership
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar stated that Budapest would support Ukraine’s accession to the European Union only on the condition that standard procedures are followed, an assessment is based on actual merits, and the issue of the rights of the Hungarian national minority is resolved.
According to him, an agreement was reached between the parties regarding the restoration of the linguistic, educational, cultural, and administrative rights of Hungarians in Ukraine; however, the Hungarian side currently sees no progress in the adoption and implementation of the relevant legislative changes. Budapest agreed to open the first and sixth negotiation clusters only on the condition that this agreement is fulfilled.
The Hungarian prime minister also spoke out against an accelerated integration process for Ukraine, comparing its situation to that of Serbia, which has been in the negotiation process for about 15 years. Mátyás emphasized that accelerated accession is unfair to other candidates, and that Ukraine, due to the state of war, is not yet ready for full membership in the European Union.
At the first meeting of the Council of the European Union’s Working Group on Enlargement (COELA) following the summer break on September 1, the Hungarian delegation once again refused to approve the results of the screening of negotiation clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine.
Ukraine expects to open the remaining negotiation clusters for accession to the European Union by the end of 2026. Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi discussed progress on European integration with European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos and stated that the government, together with parliament, is working to accelerate the necessary reforms.
