EU agrees to advance Ukraine and Moldova accession talks as Hungary lifts veto, first session on Monday

Hungary’s about-face clears the way

EU ambassadors in Brussels agreed to open the first “fundamentals” cluster of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. The decision ends a deadlock that had lasted since December 2023, when EU leaders first greenlit the talks. Hungary, then led by Viktor Orbán, was the sole holdout, freezing any concrete progress on Kyiv’s membership bid.

A new government under Prime Minister Péter Magyar took office in May and struck a deal with Kyiv last week on the rights of Ukraine’s Hungarian ethnic minority, a long-standing irritant between the neighbours. With that agreement, Budapest lifted its veto, allowing all 27 member states to give unanimous consent.

“All member states agreed to open the first accession negotiations cluster with Ukraine and Moldova.”

What the talks will cover

The accession process groups 33 negotiating “chapters” into six thematic clusters. The first, labelled “fundamentals,” covers basic values: the rule of law, fundamental rights and strong democratic institutions. An intergovernmental conference convenes in Luxembourg on Monday to formally launch the process.

“At the first Intergovernmental Conference on Monday, we will open the cluster on fundamentals; the backbone of the accession process.”

The procedure is slow by design. Even after negotiating all chapters, candidate countries need unanimous approval from every EU member state and ratification in each national parliament. Hungary’s Magyar has already made clear he does not support a fast-track path for Ukraine and said Budapest would hold a referendum on Ukraine’s membership if the country closes all 33 chapters within the next 10 to 15 years.

Kyiv and Chișinău react

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, writing on Telegram, thanked EU partners for a “strong step for Europe” and congratulated neighbouring Moldova. He described the opening of the first cluster as political and moral support for the country and its people.

“Ukraine is doing what is necessary, and it is important that the EU is also keeping its word.”

Moldovan President Maia Sandu told European Council President António Costa that her country had done the required work and would continue implementing reforms. Both Kyiv and Chișinău view EU membership as a security anchor against Russian aggression. Moscow has long claimed influence over the post-Soviet space, though it has not objected directly to EU enlargement.

Broader signals from Brussels

Costa and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called enlargement a strategic choice in a world of growing uncertainty. Their statement described the decision as recognition of the determination, courage and hard work shown by both countries in advancing reforms, even under immense challenges.

“Enlargement is a strategic choice. A larger European Union is in our common interest.”

On the same day, the IMF announced it had reached a staff-level agreement with Ukraine following a review of its $8.1 billion loan programme, opening the way for a $690 million disbursement pending board approval. The IMF noted that Ukraine met all quantitative performance criteria by end-March but delayed two structural benchmarks and missed one.

Separately, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged EU partners last month to consider offering Ukraine an “associate membership” to reinvigorate peace talks. France and the Netherlands have also floated workarounds that would bring Ukraine closer to the bloc without immediate full rights, while US-mediated negotiations with Moscow remain stalled.