Hungary blocks opening of new EU accession negotiating clusters for Ukraine and Moldova

Tetyana Vysotska, Anastasia Prots - 17 July, 19:51

The EU and Ukrainian flags. Stock photo: Getty Images

Hungary refused to back the launch of the procedure to open Clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine and supported only Cluster 3 for Moldova during a meeting of the Working Party on Enlargement and Countries Negotiating Accession to the EU (COELA) on 17 July. No decision has been taken due to objections from other EU countries.

Source: European Pravda, citing EU sources

Details: Hungary backed the launch of the procedure to open Cluster 3 for Moldova but withheld its support for the same step for Ukraine, effectively preventing the process from moving forward for either country.

"Today, COELA discussed the screening results for Clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine and Moldova to approve them and send both countries official letters inviting them to submit their negotiating positions on the two clusters. But Hungary gave the green light only to a letter on Cluster 3 being sent to Moldova," one of the sources said.

However, several other EU member states opposed separating Ukraine and Moldova in the accession negotiations and did not support that approach.

As a result, in the absence of consensus, it was decided to return to the approval of the screening results for Clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine and Moldova at the next COELA meeting on Wednesday 22 July.

Notably, 22 July will be the last meeting of COELA before the summer recess.

The first meeting of enlargement experts in Brussels after the summer break is scheduled for 1 September.

Background:

The sixth negotiating cluster, External Relations, was opened for Ukraine in Brussels on 14 July. Taras Kachka, then deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, said the opening of the remaining four clusters would not be postponed until after the summer.
The EU has published a document setting out its common position on the benchmarks for closing accession negotiations with Ukraine under Cluster 6.
Hungary had previously blocked the opening of Clusters 2-6 for Ukraine at the technical level, but later agreed to lift its veto on Cluster 6.

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