Hungary agreed to the opening of the sixth cluster of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU - media
Kyiv • UNN
After blocking, Hungary agreed to send a letter on the opening of the sixth negotiation area with Ukraine.
Hungary, after a long blockade, has agreed to start the procedure for opening one of the negotiation chapters on Ukraine's accession to the EU. This is reported by RMF24, as conveyed by UNN.
In the negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union, which were stalled by Hungary, a breakthrough has been achieved. Budapest has agreed to send an official letter to Ukraine and Moldova, initiating the procedure for opening the sixth negotiation chapter on external relations
It is noted that this is the first of five negotiation areas that Hungary has blocked since the beginning of June 23. At that time, Budapest refused to send official letters to Kyiv and Chisinau to initiate the next stages of negotiations.
This decision marks a partial softening of Hungary's position, but problems continue. Budapest still refuses to start the procedure for the remaining four negotiation areas
It is also emphasized that this means that the call of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to open all five remaining negotiation areas in July will not be fulfilled. Currently, only one is formally open – the one concerning fundamental values, including the rule of law and fundamental rights.
Sending the letter is not yet the official start of negotiations in this area. It is only the first step in the entire procedure. Ukraine and Moldova will now present their positions, and then the European Commission will prepare draft joint negotiation positions, which will require unanimous support from all member states. If the next stages of the procedure go according to plan, the official opening of the sixth negotiation chapter should take place on July 14 during a meeting of European affairs ministers of the European Union countries
Recall
Prime Minister of Hungary, Péter Magyar, stated that if the EU decides not to grant protection status to newly arrived military-age men from Ukraine, "this will not prevent Hungary from granting refugee status to those from Transcarpathia who come to the country to avoid conscription."