Brussels – It had not happened for a year and a half – more precisely for 546 days, or across six European Council meetings. At the first EU leaders’ summit attended by the new Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar, the conclusions on Ukraine were once again supported by all 27 heads of state and government, marking the end of the creative solutions found by President António Costa to circumvent Viktor Orbán‘s obstruction.
Yet, all EU leaders being back on board does not mean that the summit of 18–19 June marked a breakthrough on all fronts, especially when it comes to EU accession negotiations. Despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s explicit calls to open all five remaining clusters and to fast-track Kyiv’s accession process, the conclusions do not commit to any specific timeframe for such a step – certainly not as early as July.
A closer reading of the text, and comparison with the latest draft conclusions, is needed to grasp the extent of some leaders’ reservations. While welcoming the opening of Cluster 1 – ‘Fundamentals’ on 15 June, the final text merely “looks forward to the opening of the other clusters, in line with the merit-based approach.” In the draft circulated on the eve of the summit – seen by The New Union Post – the opening of the five remaining clusters was expected to take place “as soon as possible,” still in line with the merit-based approach.
The most vocal advocates of immediately opening accession negotiations on the five remaining clusters are the leaders of the Baltic states. “In July – that is my hope,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda told journalists before the start of the meeting. “Hopefully, already this summer,” echoed Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, while Latvia’s new head of government, Andris Kulbergs, made clear that “Ukraine has earned its place in the EU and NATO.”
Speaking on behalf of the rotating Presidency of the Council, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides stressed that “if all member states are on board, we are ready to open all the clusters.” He noted that contacts were ongoing, particularly with Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar, one of the leaders most reluctant to move forward on the issue. “We have concerns about the fact that, immediately after the opening of the first cluster, negotiations on the remaining clusters are being launched without delay,” he said. “To be honest, this idea is highly controversial, even among other countries,” he added.
In fact, the Commission recognised as early as 2025 that all six clusters were ready to be opened. Moreover, since March, front-loading work has been carried out informally at the technical level to support progress on the reforms required to align national legislation with the EU acquis across all 33 chapters, allowing formal negotiations to advance more quickly once they begin.
“We hope that during the summer we can open more clusters,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during a joint press briefing with Ukrainian President Zelensky on the margins of the summit. “It is very important because, when Ukraine delivers, we must deliver too,” she stressed, reviving the idea of a “Terrific Tuesday” on 14 July, as Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos has dubbed it.
The state of EU–Ukraine relations
Just four days after the start of Russia’s war of aggression, on 28 February 2022, Ukraine submitted its application for EU membership. On 23 June 2022, the European Council endorsed the European Commission’s recommendation to grant Kyiv 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 conference was held on 25 June 2024 in Luxembourg.
With Viktor Orbán‘s Hungary vetoing the start of Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations, the process stalled for two years. In March 2026, technical guidance was provided by the Commission to continue work on EU reforms across all six negotiating clusters, before the change of power in Budapest brought a new momentum.
The new Hungarian government, led by Péter Magyar, reached an agreement with Kyiv on the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, paving the way for the opening of Cluster 1 – ‘Fundamentals’ on 15 June 2026.
