Hungary blocks Ukraine's EU accession negotiations

On 17‑18 July 2026 the EU Council's Working Group on Enlargement (COELA) met to assess the opening of negotiation clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine and cluster 3 for Moldova. Hungary exercised its veto, refusing to support the opening of clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine while only endorsing the Moldovan cluster. The lack of consensus among EU member states halted the issuance of official invitation letters to Kyiv and Chişinău, postponing further accession talks for both candidates.

The group agreed to revisit the issue at its next meeting on 22 July, the last session before the summer break, with a further session scheduled for 1 September. If no agreement is reached, the start of the next negotiation phase is expected to be delayed until early autumn.