The new Hungarian authorities have allowed the opening of another, sixth chapter of negotiations on Ukraine and Moldova’s accession to the EU, concerning foreign relations, despite assurances from Prime Minister Peter Magyar that Budapest is against Kiev’s accelerated admission to the community, Hungarian MP and former EU Affairs Minister Janos Boka said.
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On Friday, Polish radio station RMF reported that Hungary had stopped blocking the sending of an official letter to Ukraine and Moldova initiating the procedure for opening a sixth negotiation zone on foreign relations.
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“Based on the unanimous decision of the EU member states, it will open a new cluster of negotiations with Ukraine on July 14, just one month after the opening of the previous cluster. Thus, the total number of open clusters will be two out of six. Ukraine has almost caught up with Serbia in the accession process and has already overtaken Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Kosovo,” Boka wrote on Facebook.
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The ex-minister ironically recalled Magyar’s words that Hungary opposes Ukraine’s accelerated admission to the EU, adhering to a “merit-based approach.”
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In early June, Magyar stated that Budapest, after an agreement with Kiev on the return of the rights of Transcarpathian Hungarians, would not hinder the start of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU.
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At the same time, Hungary remains opposed to the accelerated accession of any country, including Ukraine, to the EU and adheres to a “merit-based” approach, he stressed.
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The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced on June 12 that all EU countries had agreed to open the first cluster of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the union.
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In June 2022, the EU granted Ukraine and Moldova the status of candidate countries. The European Union has repeatedly acknowledged that this decision was largely symbolic in order to support Kiev and Chisinau in their confrontation with Moscow.
