The European Union is moving forward to launch formal accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova during this month of June, foreseeably in parallel with the meeting of EU Foreign Ministers on June 15 in Luxembourg, after the new Hungarian government has withdrawn the veto that the previous Viktor Orbán Executive maintained for two years on this file.
"This marks a significant milestone in their path of European integration and sends a strong message of EU unity and determination," stressed the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, currently held by Cyprus this semester, in a statement announcing the unblocking of the process.
The Cypriot presidency details that it is beginning the work for "the formal opening of cluster number one of the accession negotiations" with Ukraine and Moldova, that is, the first package of reforms examined in any accession process to the Union.
This first cluster is dedicated to "basic fundamentals" and includes essential aspects such as the functioning of the democratic institutions of the candidate countries, the modernization of public administration, the independence and effectiveness of the judiciary, and the protection of Fundamental Rights.
This is the initial block of negotiating chapters that is opened in any enlargement, but, as it covers structural reforms, it is usually also the last to be closed, recall European sources consulted by Europa Press.
The step forward comes after a debate among the ambassadors of the Twenty-Seven held this Wednesday in Brussels, in which it was confirmed that the new Hungarian Executive no longer maintains the blockade on the formal opening of talks.
The Hungarian Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, had already announced last week in a press conference in Brussels with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, his willingness to inaugurate a new stage in relations with Kyiv and indicated that talks to resolve bilateral discrepancies regarding the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine were well underway.
Several days of technical work still remain to definitively close the "common position" of the Member States that will allow the first cluster to be activated, but in Brussels it is taken for granted that the document will be approved next week.
If this calendar is respected, the intergovernmental conferences between the EU and Ukraine, and between the EU and Moldova, could be held as early as June 15, coinciding with the Council of Foreign Ministers that will take place in Luxembourg.
The blockade of the last two years led Brussels and Kyiv to maintain informal contacts for some time to advance at a technical level in numerous chapters, so that, once formal negotiations were opened, many of them would already be well-worked.
Hungary and Ukraine seal an agreement on the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia
The head of the Hungarian government reiterated this Thursday that his cabinet "will support the opening of the first group of accession chapters for Ukraine" to the EU, provided that Kyiv's commitments to strengthen the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia, in southwestern Ukraine, are incorporated into its action plan submitted to Brussels.
Thus, Magyar claimed that "in just three weeks, we have achieved what Viktor Orbán and his government did not achieve in ten years." "We have reached a comprehensive agreement with Ukraine to expand the linguistic, educational, cultural, and political rights of the more than 100,000 members of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia," he stated on his social media.
The Hungarian leader explained that the understanding with the Ukrainian authorities "is the result of several weeks of intense negotiations at the technical level" between the two countries, emphasizing that "political and religious organizations representing the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia" also took part in that process.
However, Magyar clarified that "Hungary continues to oppose accelerated accession to the EU." "If Ukraine manages to close the 33 accession chapters in the next 10 to 15 years, Hungary will support Ukraine's accession, provided that a legally binding referendum is held," he concluded.