Brussels – It is the dawn of a new political momentum in relations between Hungary and the EU institutions, a development that is expected to have a direct and significant impact on the EU enlargement process, particularly with regard to Ukraine and Moldova. With the inauguration of the new government led by Péter Magyar on 9 May, the Hungarian veto on the opening of the first cluster of negotiating chapters may now be lifted without further delay.
“The most positive message from Prime Minister Magyar is that he said all candidate countries will be treated equally, and of course we have been speaking about Ukraine a lot,” Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos stated ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council on 11 May. This ministerial meeting marks the first official appearance in Brussels of the Magyar government, even though Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Orbán – who is also responsible for this portfolio – was unable to attend.
Commissioner Kos urged “all member states to formally open all the clusters as soon as possible”, stressing that Cluster 1 – ‘Fundamentals’ “could still be opened under the Cypriot Presidency”, while the other five clusters will most likely be handled “in July” under the Irish Presidency. “We have done a lot of front loading and now everything is ready to be formally opened,” Commissioner Kos noted.
When Hungary could unblock the stalemate
With the inauguration of the new Hungarian government, the Foreign Affairs Council on 11 May represents the first opportunity to clarify whether Budapest’s position has fundamentally changed and whether it will unblock a stalemate that has been ongoing for the last two years.
As EU sources told The New Union Post, the negotiating mandate is “already on the table.” This is the document that has been under discussion since autumn 2025 and currently serves as the basis for the so-called “front-loading” work with Ukraine and Moldova, which is currently ongoing. But what are the next steps?
First, discussions will begin in the Working Party on Enlargement and Countries Negotiating Accession to the EU, the preparatory body of the Council responsible for the enlargement process and relations with candidate countries. The next meetings of the COELA Working Party are scheduled for 12, 19, 22 and 26 May.
If there is sufficient support in the preparatory body – namely, if all 27 EU governments give the green light — the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU (COREPER) will vote on the issue of the “Fulfilment of opening benchmarks for Cluster 1: Fundamentals”, assessing both Ukraine’s and Moldova’s alignment with the opening benchmarks for the first cluster of chapters. The next meetings of COREPER are scheduled for 13, 18, 20 and 27 May.
It is for the Cyprus Presidency of the Council to place the topic on the agenda of the COELA Working Party and COREPER. At the time of publication, representatives of the Cyprus Presidency had not indicated an established date for discussion of the topic, as that the next steps would be taken only when conditions allow.
The state of EU relations with Ukraine and Moldova
Just four days after the start of Russia’s war of aggression, on 28 February 2022, Ukraine submitted its application for EU membership, with Moldova following three days later, on 3 March. On 23 June 2022, the European Council endorsed the European Commission’s recommendation to grant Kyiv and Chișinău candidate status.
At the European Council meeting on 14 December 2023, EU leaders gave the green light to open accession negotiations. Following the Council’s approval of the negotiating frameworks, the first intergovernmental conferences with the two countries were held on 25 June 2024 in Luxembourg. As recognised in the 2025 Enlargement Package, the screening process has been successfully concluded with both Kyiv and Chișinău.
With Hungary continuing to veto the start of Ukraine’s EU negotiations, Moldova’s accession has also been put on hold, as Chișinău’s EU process is tied to Kyiv’s through the so-called “package approach” (which has linked the two dossiers from the very beginning). While the Commission considers it possible for Moldova to complete accession negotiations by 2027, opening them “by November” this year, Ukraine’s goal is to do the same by the end of 2028, and is now expected to meet the conditions allowing the Council to open “all clusters before the end of the year.”
On 17 March 2026, technical guidance was provided to both Ukraine and Moldova to continue work on EU reforms across all six negotiating clusters, until political conditions allow the formal process to begin – meaning Hungary lifting its veto.
Once Cluster 1 – ‘Fundamentals’ – the first group of five negotiating chapters (out of 33), focusing on economic criteria, the functioning of democratic institutions, and public administration reform – is opened, the other groups of negotiating chapters can follow. The unanimous approval of all 27 EU member states in the Council is now the only step remaining.
