Hungary again refuses to give green light to opening EU accession clusters 4 and 5 for Ukraine
Hungary refused to approve the screening results for clusters 4 and 5 in Ukraine's EU accession negotiations at a meeting of the Working Party on Enlargement and Countries Negotiating Accession to the EU (COELA) on 10 November, blocking progress towards the opening of the two negotiating clusters.
Source: European Pravda's correspondent in Brussels, citing EU sources
Details: Hungary continues to refuse to give the green light to the opening of clusters 4 and 5 for Ukraine.
"No change," one EU diplomat told European Pravda, commenting on Hungary's position on opening the two remaining negotiating clusters.
The screening results for clusters 4 and 5 for Moldova were also not approved.
Only two negotiating clusters have yet to open in the EU accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova. They are Cluster 4 (Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity) and Cluster 5 (Resources, Agriculture and Cohesion Policy).
Read more: Losing pace in the EU race: 2026 report reveals Ukraine is falling behind other candidates
Background:
- Vsevolod Chentsov, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, explained on 4 November that Hungary is not currently making any new demands regarding the rights of national minorities. He said Budapest attributes the delay to the need for further examination of documents relating to the relevant negotiating chapters.
- Meanwhile, the European Commission says Moldova could catch up with Montenegro, which is set to conclude its EU accession negotiations this year, as early as 2027 if it maintains its current pace of reforms.
- The EU acknowledged in its roadmaps that Moldova has overtaken Ukraine on the path to accession.
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