Hungary blocked the start of the first cluster of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU
Hungary has blocked the opening of the first cluster of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union called “Basics”, which deals with the rule of law. About this informs RMF24.
Poland, which currently presides over the Council of the EU, prepared a letter with the conditions for the opening of the Osnovy cluster, which was planned to be handed over to Ukraine. The document talks about the need to develop two road maps – regarding reforms in the sphere of the rule of law and changes in the state administration system.
The only country that opposed the adoption of this letter was Hungary. She insisted that Ukraine should also present a plan for the protection of national minorities. This position blocks the opening of the first cluster of talks in April, as two procedural decisions still need to be made before then, each of which could also be blocked.
Budapest’s decision is probably related to its claims to the Ukrainian authorities, which were recently voiced in Kyiv by Hungarian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Levente Magyar. He demanded an “explanation” from Ukraine regarding the “slander campaign against Hungary” and accused Kyiv of violating the rights of Transcarpathian Hungarians to use their native language. Magyar then stated that if these issues are not resolved, Budapest will use the opportunity to block Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations.
