EU's Kos sets July deadline for Ukraine accession clusters
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The Enlargement Commissioner has set a July deadline to open all of Ukraine’s accession clusters, urging member states to speed up the process. Newly appointed Hungarian Prime Minister Magyar is set to play a key role.
Marta Kos has urged member states to open all EU accession negotiation clusters for Ukraine and Moldova by July, in a renewed push to break months of deadlock, as Brussels sees a window of opportunity with Hungary’s new authorities.
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"I will urge all member states to formally open all the clusters," she told reporters in Brussels on Monday. "We have done a lot of front-loading, so everything is ready (for it)."
Kos said the first negotiation cluster could be opened in June during Cyprus’s rotating EU presidency, with the remaining five to follow by July once Ireland takes over the role. The Commissioner also said she expects Ukraine to receive the first tranche of a €90 billion loan backed by EU member states after Hungary lifted a months-long veto.
Negotiating clusters are linked to major reforms in alignment with EU standards, from rule of law to judicial reform. All benchmarks must be met by an aspiring country, with the final decision resting on unanimous approval by the 27 member states.
The European Commission argues that Ukraine is technically ready to begin the process, which has so far been dragged by Hungary’s veto policy under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. With a change in leadership, Brussels hopes Budapest will take a more constructive approach to accelerate Kyiv's path towards membership.
Magyar, who was sworn in as prime minister on 9 April, coinciding with Europe Day, has defended Ukraine’s territorial integrity under international law but has rejected any fast-track path to EU membership, a view shared by most member states.
While the Commission has praised Ukraine’s progress, it has refused to set a date for its EU entry, insisting the process remains merit-based. Kyiv, meanwhile, is pushing for a clear timetable to be set down on paper as soon as possible.
The June deadline set by Kos for the first cluster coincides with Magyar’s first European summit as Hungarian prime minister, scheduled for mid-June. While opening clusters does not require leaders’ approval and can be handled by diplomats, the summit is seen as a temperature check for Kyiv, Brussels and Budapest.
Magyar has indicated that a reset in relations is possible, but has made it conditional on Kyiv introducing legal changes to protect what he described as the linguistic, cultural and historical rights of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine. A meeting between Magyar and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected in early June.
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EU's Kos sets July deadline for Ukraine accession clusters
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