EU says it cannot open negotiation clusters with Ukraine without Hungary's consent

Polish Minister for European Affairs Adam Szłapka said on 18 March in Brussels that the European Commission and Poland, which holds the EU presidency in the first half of 2025, are ready to open negotiating clusters with Ukraine, in particular the first cluster, Fundamentals. However, this process requires unanimous support from all 27 EU states and is unfortunately being blocked by Hungary.

Source: Adam Szłapka, answering the questions of a European Pravda correspondent

Quote: "You know the political situation in terms of bilateral relations between Ukraine and Hungary. We are, as I always say, determined as the Polish presidency to move the EU enlargement process forward. This is one of our priorities."

Details: At the same time, the European Commission confirmed that the EU is currently unable to open the first cluster in the negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU due to Hungary's blocking of the process.

Szłapka said that the European Commission is also "very determined" to conduct a screening process of Ukrainian legislation.

"So we are ready to work on that, but we need unanimity, unfortunately," the Polish minister stated.

"We hope that this (opening of clusters in negotiations with Ukraine) will be a process based on achievements and should be based on arguments, not on political issues," Adam Szłapka expressed hope.

"Enlargement will remain a priority for this Commission. For Ukraine, we opened the accession process in June 2024. This was a recognition of Ukraine's determination to move forward with its EU path and implement transformational reforms, despite the ongoing aggressive war by Russia. Until now, Ukraine has been making steady progress towards EU membership," European Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier said at a briefing on 18 March.

He clarified that Ukraine is currently "undergoing bilateral screening reports, which will last until the autumn of this year".

"Provided all the necessary requirements are met, the European Commission expects the first cluster, Fundamentals, to open as soon as possible in 2025. But this requires the consent of all member states," the spokesperson said.

"In these circumstances, the unanimity requirement is an obstacle. We need all member states to agree. The Commission has given its assessment, and we believe we can open the first cluster. But now we need the agreement of all member states," Guillaume Mercier concluded.

Background:

• This year, the European Commission announced ambitious plans to open three clusters of negotiations between Ukraine and the EU before the end of the Polish presidency in June 2025.
• However, in mid-February, it became known that Hungary had blocked the opening of the first negotiation cluster and demanded to expand the list of requirements for Ukraine.

Read also: Easing martial law, reforms by 2027: what the EU expects of Ukraine on its path to membership

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