Hungary has lifted its veto preventing Ukraine from joining the European Union in a move that could be a huge blow to Russia. The breakthrough ends a two-year deadlock in Brussels and clears the way for Ukraine and Moldova to open the first cluster of negotiations in the EU accession process.
The decision is likely to be viewed as a setback forRussia, which has opposedUkraine's growing ties with the West. It brings Kyiv a step closer to EU membership. The sought-after breakthrough came during a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday, when Hungary dropped its objections and allowed member states to reach the unanimity needed to move the process forward. Ukraine and Moldova, whose membership bids have been closely linked, have spent the past two years attempting to unlock the first cluster of negotiations, known as "fundamentals", which covers areas including the rule of law, human rights and the judiciary. Progress had been blocked by Hungary, which raised concerns over the rights of the Hungarian minority living in Ukraine's Transcarpathia region.
The veto had been in place since 2024 and repeatedly frustrated attempts by Brussels to advance Ukraine's membership application.
The breakthrough follows the election of Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who has pledged to improve relations with Kyiv after years of tensions.
In a post on Facebook, Mr Magyar said: "We have reached a full agreement with Ukraine on expanding the linguistic, educational, cultural and political rights of a hundred thousand Hungarian minorities."
He said: "The agreement is the result of several weeks of intensive Hungarian-Ukrainian expert-level negotiations, in which political organizations and churches of Transcarpathian Hungarians participated."
Mr Magyar added that "the Ukrainian Government has agreed to translate the negotiated measures into its legal system in the near future" and said the commitments would also appear in "Ukraine's plan of action towards theEuropean Union".
Ukraine and Moldova are currently linked in the accession process, meaning both countries are expected to benefit from the decision.
The development comes after Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyrepeatedly called for the opening of the first cluster of accession talks.
EU accession negotiations are divided into 33 chapters spread across six thematic clusters, with the "fundamentals" cluster opened first and closed last.
Source: Daily Express :: World Feed
