Hungary has agreed to the opening of a new phase of Ukraine's EU accession negotiations
Hungary has agreed to begin the process of opening the sixth cluster of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. According to media reports, the EU is expected to send an official letter to Ukraine and Moldova shortly, launching this stage of the negotiation process.
This is the first of the remaining five negotiation clusters, the opening of which Hungary blocked on June 23. At that time, Budapest refused to send official letters to Kyiv and Chisinau initiating the next stages of negotiations.
This decision marks a partial softening of Hungary’s position, but it does not spell the end of the problems. According to RMF FM, Budapest still refuses to agree to the start of proceedings regarding the remaining four clusters.
This also means that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s demand—that all five negotiation clusters be opened as early as July—will not be met. Currently, only one cluster has been officially opened: “Fundamentals,” specifically the rule of law and fundamental rights.
The sixth negotiation cluster covers common foreign and security policy, trade policy, and relations with third countries.
Sending the letter does not yet signify the official start of negotiations in this area. It is merely the first step in the procedure. Now Ukraine and Moldova will present their positions, after which the European Commission will prepare draft common negotiating positions, which must receive unanimous support from all member states.
If the subsequent stages of the procedure proceed as planned, the official opening of the sixth cluster of negotiations is scheduled to take place on July 14 during a meeting of European Union ministers for European affairs.
According to RMF FM, there is no consensus in Brussels on opening all other clusters simultaneously. An increasing number of countries are advocating for a gradual approach to the negotiations rather than accelerating them. Poland is also part of this group, advocating for the opening of subsequent negotiation clusters in stages rather than all at once.
This information was reported by the Polish radio station RMF FM.
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