Ukraine and Moldova could officially begin negotiations on joining the European Union in the coming days. Hungary is signaling its readiness to lift its long-standing blockade of Ukraine's EU membership bid. This was reported by Politico, according to UNN.
Details
According to the publication, the opening of the first negotiation "cluster" could take place during an intergovernmental conference in Luxembourg on June 15.
As diplomats note, Budapest had previously strongly opposed Ukraine's accession to the EU under the government of Viktor Orbán. However, Hungary's new leadership is reportedly demonstrating a readiness to reconsider its position following negotiations between Ukrainian and Hungarian experts regarding the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine.
According to one diplomat, during the meeting, the Ukrainian side provided guarantees regarding the settlement of most of the issues that Budapest had previously put forward as part of its 11-point plan.
At the same time, a Hungarian official told Politico that a final decision on opening negotiation clusters for Ukraine has not yet been made.
Negotiations are ongoing. No agreement has been reached yet
The article notes that negotiations regarding Ukraine's accession intensified following a visit by Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar to Brussels. There, he discussed with EU leadership the issue of unblocking 16.4 billion euros in European funds frozen for Hungary.
It is expected that EU ambassadors could agree on a final position regarding the opening of the first negotiation cluster for Ukraine and Moldova by the end of this week.
The opening of clusters requires the unanimous approval of all 27 EU member states. Each country has the right to block the process at any stage of the accession negotiations.