EU presses ahead with Ukraine accession talks despite Hungary's block

Brussels officials are pushing to begin formal negotiations for Ukraine's accession to the European Union as early as June, Politico reported on Tuesday. The paper added that Hungary is facing renewed pressure to drop its opposition to Kyiv's candidacy.

According to Politico, diplomats are working intensively behind the scenes to convince the Hungarian government to agree to start talks on Ukraine's EU accession. Five diplomats, speaking anonymously, stated that the goal is to start formal negotiations on 25 June at 1:00 PM GT.

The start of talks aims to boost the morale of Ukrainians who have been fending off a full-scale Russian invasion for over two years, the portal reports.

In December last year, European Union leaders informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that they wanted Ukraine and Moldova to join the Community, which would increase the number of member countries to 29. However, Hungary's opposition has blocked the formal legal process to start membership talks.

Diplomats claim that Brussels and Kyiv are engaged in intense bilateral talks with Budapest to address concerns regarding the Hungarian minority in Ukraine.

According to a Ukrainian summary of the April talks between Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian President's office, and Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, "positive dynamics in the dialogue" were noted. According to one diplomat, Kyiv responded to Budapest's list of 11 points and is awaiting Hungary's response.

One EU diplomat believes that Hungary might want to settle the accession talks with Ukraine before taking over the six-month Presidency of the EU Council in July. There was a sense that it shouldn't be done before the European Parliament elections on 9 June, as it could become an election issue, said the EU diplomat, reflecting the sentiments among many officials in Brussels. Now we are looking for this window in June. He added that the Hungarians would prefer to have (discussions on Ukraine's membership) behind them before the presidency.

After EU leaders have given Ukraine political support, the next step in the accession process is to initiate formal talks through an intergovernmental conference. This would mean starting membership negotiations.

For this to happen, EU countries must agree on so-called negotiation frameworks. The 27 capitals have been negotiating this document since the European Commission sent it to them in March. So far, technical-level negotiations are going well, said two diplomats, who expect a new draft to be sent to EU ambassadors in the coming weeks so they can finalise the most sensitive issues.

Ukraine and its EU supporters are calling for an intergovernmental conference organisation before Hungary takes over the rotating EU Council presidency on 1 July.

According to Politico, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been the biggest obstacle to implementing EU support for Ukraine over the past two years. He has repeatedly threatened to block decisions regarding EU funding for Ukraine, accession negotiations, and sanctions against Russia. Before agreeing to the negotiation frameworks, Budapest wants more guarantees regarding improving legal protection for the Hungarian minority in Ukraine.

At the same time, diplomats say Hungary is keen on having a successful EU Council presidency. The Belgians, who currently hold the rotating presidency, are also trying to convince the Hungarians that it is in their political interest and that they could block Ukraine's accession to the EU at a later date.