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Hungary Again Throws Up Roadblock to Ukraine’s EU Accession, Blocking Clusters 2 and 3
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The EU Council’s Working Party on Enlargement and Countries Negotiating Accession (COELA) was unable to approve the screening results for Ukraine's negotiating clusters 2 and 3 on September 8.
European diplomats failed to secure Budapest's consent to advance the process, leaving the adoption of the screening outcomes stalled, as reported by European Pravda.
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Member states did not alter their positions, and Hungary refused to proceed with unlocking these negotiation modules. The impasse also affects Moldova's integration process, as other EU member states have refused to decouple Chisinau's accession progress from Kyiv's, maintaining a unified approach for both candidate nations despite Budapest expressing readiness to approve Moldova's screening results.
Although Hungary expressed readiness in July 2026 to approve the screening results for cluster 3 regarding Moldova, other member states have declined to separate the accession trajectories of Ukraine and Moldova.
Meanwhile, Hungarian officials have not provided specific details regarding their demands to allow the process to move forward.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi addressed the issue during a press briefing, noting that Kyiv is actively pursuing dialogue with Hungarian and European partners to prevent artificial delays.
He emphasized that even during closed-door sessions where Hungary declined to approve the clusters, its objections were expressed only in broad terms, leaving the underlying reasons for the obstacles unclear.
Tykhyi rejected suggestions that Ukraine is seeking an expedited track, affirming that the country is following a merit-based approach.
He also noted that Ukraine has information concerning members of Hungary's former government participating in efforts to obstruct Kyiv's path toward European integration, stating: "For 17 months, Viktor Orbán's government blocked the opening of clusters, even though Ukraine met all the conditions for it. But even after losing power, Orbán's team continues to disrupt the normalization of relations between Hungary and Ukraine."
Under the leadership of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Hungary had systematically opposed Ukraine’s integration into Euro-Atlantic structures and frequently weaponized its veto power to block critical Western support packages.
However, following his election victory, incoming Prime Minister Péter Magyar signaled an immediate reset in bilateral relations.
His administration subsequently shifted its stance, committing to a policy of non-interference and privately signaling a willingness to lift the long-standing veto on Ukraine’s formal European Union accession negotiations.
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