Hungary Blocks Opening of EU Accession Clusters for Ukraine at Council Meeting

During a meeting of the Council of the European Union’s Working Party on Enlargement and Countries Negotiating Accession to the EU (COELA) on Friday, July 17, Hungary refused to initiate the process of opening negotiation clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine.

According to European Pravda, citing sources within the EU, Hungary agreed to begin the process for cluster 3 regarding Moldova. However, representatives of several other EU member states opposed decoupling the accession progress of Ukraine and Moldova. As a result, no decision was adopted, and the opening of the clusters remains stalled for both countries.

The July 17 COELA meeting focused on discussing the screening results for clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine and Moldova. The objective was to approve the results and send official letters to both countries requesting their negotiating positions for the respective clusters.

Due to the absence of a consensus, EU member states agreed to revisit the approval of the screening results during the next COELA meeting scheduled for July 22. This will be the final meeting of the working group before the summer recess, with the subsequent session planned for Sept. 1.

Background to the accession negotiations

The current delay follows a partial shift in Hungary’s position earlier this month. In early July, Hungary agreed to allow the EU to send an official letter to Kyiv and Chisinau to launch the procedure for opening the sixth accession cluster, which encompasses common foreign and security policy, trade policy, and relations with third countries.

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Despite that step, Budapest maintained its block on the remaining four clusters. To date, only the Fundamentals cluster, which covers democracy, the rule of law, and public administration, has been formally opened.

The pace of the accession process is also subject to debate among other EU member states. Several capitals advocate for a phased, cluster-by-cluster approach rather than opening all negotiations simultaneously.