Hungary lifts 17-month veto on Ukraine's EU membership bid – media
Hungary has lifted its 17-month veto on Ukraine’s progress toward joining the EU, and the new government in Budapest has signaled that it will also allow official accession talks to begin for neighboring Moldova, the Financial Times reported on Thursday morning.
"A decision by Orbán’s successor Péter Magyar last night paves the way for negotiations to start for both countries on June 15. That would see them start aligning their laws with EU standards in the first so-called cluster of six of a gruelling 33 policy areas, known as accession chapters," the article says.
The head of the Hungarian government stated that Budapest will support Kyiv’s membership process following the conclusion of a "comprehensive agreement with Ukraine on expanding the linguistic, educational, cultural, and political rights of the Hungarian minority." This agreement was reached after weeks of intensive negotiations between Kyiv, Budapest, and Brussels, as well as diplomatic pressure from other EU states on Magyar to demonstrate a break with the policy of his predecessor Viktor Orban, the publication writes.
"The milestone decision to formally initiate accession negotiations for Ukraine and Moldova is a historic moment both for the candidate countries and for the EU," said Marilena Raouna, Deputy Minister for European Affairs of Cyprus, which holds the bloc’s rotating presidency. Raouna added that Cyprus She added that Cyprus had "worked diligently and inclusively with all member states to ensure tangible progress."
EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos told the Financial Times last week that she expected Hungary to allow the opening of the first cluster in June and the rest in July, citing a "change in narrative."
The shift in Hungary’s course came after the conclusion of a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday evening, triggering a flurry of technical processes to prepare for the official opening of the first cluster in 11 days. "We have waited so long, and now history has gone on a roller coaster," an unnamed European diplomat who participated in the talks told the publication.
