Hungary previously blocked accession talks, warning that Kiev’s entry would cripple EU finances and devastate farmers
The EU plans to adjust its rules in order to push ahead with technical steps for admitting Ukraine and Moldova, thereby bypassing the Hungarian veto that has stalled formal accession talks with Kiev, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
No negotiation cluster has been opened for Ukraine as Hungary has repeatedly vetoed the procedural steps required to launch the first one. Budapest has consistently opposed Ukraine’s EU membership bid, citing Kiev’s treatment of ethnic Hungarians and the potential economic strain Ukrainian accession would entail for the bloc.
According to the FT, however, the European Commission has proposed adjusting its own rules to sidestep the veto by launching technical work in several clusters even without a formal decision to open negotiations in those areas. A negotiation cluster is a group of related policy areas that a candidate country must negotiate as part of the accession process.
Brussels on Monday backed European Council President Antonio Costa’s plan to bypass Budapest’s veto by allowing a qualified majority of member states to open negotiating clusters for Ukraine and Moldova instead of requiring unanimous approval at each stage as is the case now, Politico reported.
The issue is set to be discussed at an informal European Council meeting in Copenhagen later this week.
Ukraine applied for EU membership in February 2022, while Moldova submitted its application the following month.
The two bids have long been informally treated as a package, though some in the bloc argue they should be considered separately. Zelensky has claimed that splitting them would signal a rift in the EU over security guarantees for Kiev – a stance critics see as an attempt to keep Moldova tied to Ukraine’s slower-moving accession bid.
Last month, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto warned that Ukraine’s accession “would be the coup de grace to the European Union,” arguing that the bloc would have to divert “practically all” its financial resources to support Kiev, while cheaper Ukrainian farm products would “destroy European agriculture.”
Unlike most EU member states, Hungary has refused to supply weapons to Ukraine and has repeatedly criticized EU sanctions on Russia. Moscow says it has no objection to Ukraine joining the EU but considers Kiev’s proposed accession to NATO an unacceptable security threat.
You can share this story on social media:
Read the full article here