Hungary has reportedly blocked an important procedural step needed to open additional negotiating chapters in Ukraine’s accession process to the European Union. According to unnamed EU diplomats speaking to POLITICO Brussels, Budapest was the only EU member state to oppose sending a joint letter to the European Council and European Commission outlining the bloc’s common position on the next phase of accession talks.

The unexpected delay by Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s government emerged only days after Ukraine and Moldova reached a major milestone on their path towards EU membership. On 15 June, the two countries formally opened the first accession cluster after all 27 member states gave their approval, ending years of deadlock caused by former prime minister Viktor Orbán’s vetoes.

According to POLITICO, Hungary was alone in opposing the latest procedural move. The letter requires unanimous approval from all member states before it can be transmitted to EU institutions. Diplomats said the issue will return to the agenda next week. The delay, however, could be enough to jeopardize Kyiv’s goal of opening all six accession clusters by mid-July.

Speaking during his first European Council summit as prime minister last week, Magyar had already signalled a more cautious stance towards Ukraine’s ambitions regarding the accession process, arguing that opening all six negotiating clusters simultaneously would be premature.

‘The delay…could be enough to jeopardize Kyiv’s goal of opening all six accession clusters by mid-July’

‘The ink on the first one isn’t even dry yet,’ he argued, adding that accelerating Ukraine’s accession process could send the wrong signal to Western Balkan candidates such as Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, and North Macedonia, which have spent years waiting for membership.

According to media reports, Magyar also successfully pushed for softer language in the Council conclusions on Ukraine, removing a reference calling for Kyiv’s membership process to advance ‘as soon as possible’.

The cautious stance comes despite a significant improvement in Hungarian–Ukrainian relations. Earlier this month, Budapest and Kyiv reached a political agreement on the rights of the roughly 100,000 ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region. The breakthrough removed the main obstacle that had prevented Hungary from supporting the opening of accession negotiations.

Under the agreement, Ukraine pledged to restore Hungarian-language educational structures, protect linguistic and cultural rights, permit the use of Hungarian national symbols, and incorporate these guarantees into domestic legislation and its EU accession commitments. Hungary subsequently lifted its veto on opening the first negotiating cluster.

The agreement marked a clear break with the bilateral tensions that characterized Orbán’s final years in power. During the last two years of his premiership, Orbán repeatedly delayed or blocked EU decisions related to Ukraine, including military assistance, financial support, and Kyiv’s EU bid. He argued that Ukrainian membership would have negative economic and security consequences for Hungary. He frequently advocated peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv and criticized the EU’s approach to the conflict.

Orbán was also the only EU leader to maintain pragmatic relations with Russia despite the war, while further deepening Hungary’s energy cooperation with Moscow after 2022. His stance frequently prompted accusations from European partners that Hungary was acting as Russia’s closest ally within the European Union.

‘The latest move suggests more continuity than many in Brussels expected’

Ukraine became one of the defining issues of the 2026 election campaign. Magyar presented the vote as a choice between what he described as continued international isolation and a return to the European mainstream, arguing that Hungary’s strategic future lay with its Western allies rather than closer alignment with Moscow.

Yet the latest move suggests more continuity than many in Brussels expected. While Magyar ended Hungary’s blanket opposition to Ukraine’s EU membership, he has consistently rejected any attempt to fast-track accession and insists that Kyiv should progress through the same merit-based process as every other candidate country.

Magyar also reaffirmed Hungary’s position of not supplying weapons or military equipment to Ukraine following a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the end of May. The remarks were later praised by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

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