“Hungary has delayed an important procedural step for the European Union membership applications of Ukraine and Moldova,” foreign media report.
The two candidate countries reached a key milestone on June 15, when EU states approved the opening of the first negotiating chapter, a process that had been blocked for years by former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban.
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The applications of Ukraine and Moldova are politically linked, so one cannot move forward without the other.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Taras Katska said Kyiv aims to open six chapters by mid-July, but that deadline is at risk after Hungary opposed sending a letter to the Council and the European Commission on behalf of the 27 member states.
The letter would express the common position of the EU capitals, but Budapest was the only one to reject it, although this move is expected to be discussed again next week.
According to media reports, this stance is in line with Prime Minister Peter Majar’s cool policy toward Ukraine’s accession. Although he did not oppose the opening of the first chapter, the Hungarian government requested that the words “as soon as possible” be removed from the conclusions of the EU leaders’ meeting in Brussels.
Majar said the immediate opening of six chapters is not a good idea because the process has only just begun and because it would send the wrong message to Western Balkan countries such as Serbia, Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia, which have been trying for years to join the EU.
