Ukraine and Moldova are moving closer to the Union after an agreement on the rights of the Hungarian minority. The EU is already preparing the opening of the first cluster of accession negotiations.
On Wednesday evening, the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU announced the start of preparations for the formal opening of the first cluster in the accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. Progress in this matter was made possible by the agreement between Budapest and Kyiv on expanding the rights of the Hungarian minority living in Ukraine. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar previously announced that the Ukrainian government is committed to implementing the agreed measures into its legal system in the near future, which will give Transcarpathian Hungarians broader rights than before.
Agreement on Minority Rights
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kosova said in response to the X Network that the agreement between Budapest and Kyiv “paves the way for progress on Ukraine’s path to EU membership”. According to her, EU member states will now be able to continue preparations for the opening of the first of a total of six clusters with Ukraine and Moldova. Clusters are groups of thematically divided access chapters.
In its contribution to X, the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU described Wednesday’s announcement on the start of preparations as an important milestone. According to the statement, the EU countries will work intensively in the coming days to complete the negotiations with the aim of achieving the formal opening of the cluster. According to Kosova, Ukraine and Moldova are already meeting the requirements in the area of the rule of law.
The process of joining the EU
Ukraine applied for EU membership in June 2022, four months after the start of the Russian invasion. The Union formally opened accession negotiations in June 2024, launching a complex process that usually takes years. However, it was largely a symbolic step – the actual start of the process has since been blocked by former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, AFP recalled. Orbán thereby also complicated the accession process of Moldova, which is taking place simultaneously with Ukraine’s request.
Magyar, who defeated Orbán in a recent election, announced in April that he would not block progress in Ukraine’s accession process as soon as outstanding issues between Budapest and Kyiv were resolved. According to AFP, the breakthrough came on Wednesday, when he announced a historic agreement to expand the rights of the Hungarian minority living in Ukraine.
