Opening of clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine postponed until September due to Hungary's position
Hungary has refused to approve the screening results for negotiation clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine and Moldova during an EU Council meeting, delaying the process until September.
Hungary blocked the approval of the screening results for clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine and Moldova at a meeting of the EU Council's Working Party on Enlargement (COELA) on 22 July, according to EU sources. The next attempt is scheduled for 1 September.
The second attempt on 22 July to persuade Hungary to approve the screening results for clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine and Moldova ended in failure. A third attempt is planned for 1 September.
"Today, COELA once again failed to approve the screening results for clusters No. 2 and No. 3 for Ukraine and Moldova due to Hungary's unwillingness. The issue has been postponed until September," a source told European Pravda.
During the COELA meeting on 17 July, Hungary refused to begin the process of opening negotiating clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine, but agreed to open cluster 3 for Moldova. That proposal, however, failed to gain the support of a majority of EU member states, and no decision was adopted.
The sixth negotiating cluster, External Relations, was opened for Ukraine in Brussels on 14 July. Taras Kachka, then deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, said the opening of the remaining four clusters would not be postponed until after the summer.
Hungary had previously blocked the opening of clusters 2-6 for Ukraine at the technical level, but later agreed to lift its veto on cluster 6.
