Hungary Blocks EU Accession Talks with Ukraine; Decision Postponed to July 22
Hungary on Friday blocked the opening of the next sections in EU accession talks with Ukraine, prompting objections from other member states; the issue will be revisited later this month.
Hungary objected on Friday to opening further negotiation chapters with Ukraine in its European Union accession process. The EU Enlargement Working Group (COELA) had planned to approve requests from Ukraine and Moldova to submit the bloc’s position on two chapters: internal market, and competitiveness and inclusive growth. However, Hungary only agreed to send a letter to Moldova regarding a third chapter.
Several other EU member states opposed this separation of Ukraine and Moldova and did not support Hungary’s proposal. Consequently, it was decided to return to the matter at the next meeting on July 22, which will be the last before the summer break.
