EU formally opens first accession cluster with Ukraine and Moldova after Hungary lifts veto
The EU opened the first negotiating cluster with Ukraine and Moldova on Monday, a step unlocked by Hungary's new government lifting a two-year veto. The path to full membership remains measured in years, with security and reconstruction costs among the unresolved questions.
The breakthrough in Luxembourg
EU foreign ministers formally opened the first thematic negotiating cluster with Ukraine and Moldova on Monday, grouping chapters on rule of law, justice reform and fundamental rights. EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos called it a "megalunes" for the bloc's expansion process. The step had been frozen since June 2024, when Hungary, then under Viktor Orbán, blocked progress citing disputes over minority language rights.
As never before, enlargement is functioning as the EU's most important foreign policy: in the last 16, 17 months we have achieved more than in the previous 15 years.
The political logjam broke after Hungary's April election brought a new government led by Peter Magyar. A compromise on the cultural, linguistic, and educational rights of roughly 100,000 ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine cleared the way for Budapest to lift its veto. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council president, António Costa, described enlargement as a "strategic decision."
What the first cluster covers
Known as "Fundamentals," the cluster pulls together the political criterion, the economic criterion, and key acquis chapters such as financial control and public procurement. Candidates must demonstrate that their justice systems, border protection, and police meet EU standards. It is opened first and closed last, serving as the backbone of the entire negotiation architecture.
Kos voiced confidence that the remaining five clusters could be opened as early as July. Montenegro also advanced on Monday, closing two additional chapters, bringing its total to 16 out of 35, roughly the halfway mark. Kos suggested that if the Commission, member states, and Podgorica coordinate closely, Montenegro could cross "the finish line" before the end of the year.
The security dilemma
EU officials do not expect Ukraine to join before the middle of the next decade, and certainly not before the end of the Russian war. The question of how to integrate a country at war remains the largest obstacle. German chancellor Friedrich Merz has proposed a transitional special status that would allow Ukraine to attend summits and ministerial councils without voting rights.
Ukraine could participate in EU summits, there would be an EU commissioner from Ukraine, but without a portfolio and voting rights, and Ukrainian MEPs would also not vote.
Kyiv has pushed back. Foreign minister Andrij Sybiha insisted on "full, equal membership in the EU." President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine's presence in the EU must be complete, with all rights. Ukraine also sees membership as leverage in any future peace talks with Russia.
Scale and cost
Ukraine's accession would shift weights across the Union. With nearly 40 million people, it is the largest country by area in Europe. It would require billions of euros in reconstruction aid and would qualify for substantial agricultural subsidies. Both items will figure in the negotiations. Moldova, by contrast, has roughly 2.4 million people and faces its own pressures from Moscow.
No country in the history of the EU has pursued membership under such conditions.
Eight Nordic and Baltic states have urged the fastest possible integration of Ukraine. Kos added that Ukraine's experience in modern drone warfare and defence could make the Union more secure. The next EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, attended by Austrian chancellor Christian Stocker and other leaders, will discuss the broader enlargement calendar, with Vienna pushing for equal treatment of Western Balkan candidates.
- Ukraine submits EU membership application days after Russia's full-scale invasion.
- EU formally opens accession negotiations with Ukraine, but talks are immediately blocked by Hungary.
- Hungary elects a new government under Peter Magyar, replacing Viktor Orbán.
- Hungary lifts its veto after a compromise on the rights of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine.
- First negotiating cluster (Fundamentals) formally opened with Ukraine and Moldova in Luxembourg.
The long road
Negotiations are structured across six clusters that group 33 of the 35 technical chapters, with two chapters handled outside the cluster system. Opening and closing each cluster requires unanimity among the 27 member states, meaning any single capital can slow or stall the process. Turkey, which began talks in 2005, remains frozen today over democratic backsliding.
A key psychological dimension is at play. The EU is signalling to an estimated 33 million Ukrainians, now in the fifth year of a defensive war against Russia, and to 2.4 million Moldovans that the path to EU citizenship is concrete. For Kyiv, the talks represent both a diplomatic anchor to the West and a political signal to Moscow.
