Yuri Kobzar20:37, 17.07.26

This is not the first stick that the new Hungarian government has stuck in the wheels of Ukraine’s European integration.

Flags of Ukraine, the European Union and Hungary / photo UNIAN

Hungary blocked the start of the procedure for opening negotiation clusters No. 2 and No. 3 for Ukraine during a meeting of the EU Council Working Group on Enlargement. At the same time, Budapest agreed to open cluster No. 3 for Moldova, but this proposal did not receive support from the majority of EU member states. As a result, no decision was made, writes “European Truth” with reference to its own sources in the EU.

According to the publication, during the meeting on July 17, the participants were to approve the results of the screening of negotiation clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine and Moldova. The next step was to send official letters to both countries asking them to provide their negotiating positions on the respective clusters.

According to the publication’s interlocutor, it was Hungary’s position that became the main obstacle to advancing the process.

The publication notes that the Hungarian side did not support the opening of cluster No. 3 for Ukraine, which effectively blocked the progress of the negotiation process not only for Kyiv, but also for Chisinau. The reason was that a number of EU member states opposed the separation of Ukraine and Moldova on the path to accession negotiations.

As reported by “European Pravda”, representatives of several countries insisted on joint consideration of the issue concerning both states, therefore a compromise solution could not be reached. Due to the lack of consensus, the meeting participants decided to postpone consideration of the issue.

“As a result, due to the lack of consensus, it was decided to return to the issue of approving the results of the screening of clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine and Moldova at the next COELA meeting on Wednesday, July 22,” the material says.

The meeting on 22 July will be the last for the EU Council’s Enlargement Working Party before the summer break. After that, the work of enlargement experts will only resume in the autumn – the next meeting in Brussels is scheduled for 1 September. Thus, if the member states fail to reach an agreement on 22 July, further consideration of the issue of opening new negotiation clusters for Ukraine and Moldova will be postponed at least until early autumn.

At the same time, “European Truth” does not specify the reasons for which Hungary blocked the process.

(C)UNIAN 2026