Hungary to lift block on Ukraine and Moldova EU accession talks

Hungary is reportedly preparing to lift a procedural blockade on the European Union accession process for Ukraine and Moldova. Prime Minister Péter Magyar has instructed Hungarian diplomats not to obstruct the dispatch of preparatory letters regarding two critical negotiation clusters: the internal market and competitiveness policy areas.

This potential shift follows the lifting of a previous veto in June. If the agreement on these clusters proceeds, only two remaining groups—the green agenda and agriculture/cohesion—will be left unaddressed. The European Commission aims to advance discussions on these final sectors before the end of the year.

However, Budapest’s full political endorsement remains strictly conditional on legislative action in Kyiv. The Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, is expected to vote on a bill concerning minority-language schooling. This legislation aims to create a national minority school status for institutions where over half of the pupils are taught in a minority language that is also an official EU language. Hungary’s consent is tied to the successful passage of this bill, which concerns the rights of the approximately 100,000 ethnic Hungarians living in Transcarpathia.