Ukraine seeks grain transit via neighbors as Hungary blocks EU clusters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has requested that neighboring countries, including Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary, permit the transit of Ukrainian grain. This request follows a Black Sea blockade caused by Russian attacks, which has significantly disrupted agricultural exports. Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar indicated he would not object to grain cargoes passing through Hungary to other destinations, provided they are merely in transit, such as maize transported in sealed trains to Western Europe.

Despite this cooperation on transit, Hungary has reportedly blocked progress on Ukraine’s European Union membership bid. Budapest withheld approval for the screening results of two remaining negotiating clusters: Cluster 4 (Green agenda and sustainable connectivity) and Cluster 5 (Resources, agriculture and cohesion). These clusters cover critical areas such as energy, transport, environment, and agriculture. Because opening a cluster requires unanimous agreement from all 27 EU member states, Hungary’s objection represents a setback for Kyiv’s accession process.