The launch of expert-level negotiations on the matter — following the first publicly acknowledged direct talks between Ukraine and Hungary’s foreign ministers over the weekend — hints that Budapest may now be open to hammering out an agreement on the issue.
Speaking to POLITICO last week, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Kyiv remained bullish on its EU membership prospects and was aiming to sign a “membership agreement” with the bloc in 2027. Budapest has so far blocked Kyiv from opening any “clusters” — or formal negotiation chapters — in its talks with Brussels, but there are now hopes that opposition will be lifted in June, and that as many as five clusters will be opened in the coming months.
However, full membership in the bloc remains a distant prospect. While Kyiv insists that accession to the EU is a crucial part of the package that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will need to sell to the Ukrainian people as part of any peace deal with Russia, there is no consensus among the bloc’s members when it comes to the precise timeline for Kyiv’s incorporation.
Germany, for example, has floated a paper proposing an “associate membership” option that Ukraine opposes. Meanwhile, the European Commission backs a middle-ground solution that would see technical membership talks with Kyiv concluded by the end of 2027.
According to a senior Council official who was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, the Viktor Orbán government’s refusal to even discuss Ukraine’s bid to join the EU means that Budapest now lacks key documentation on the membership process. Efforts are now underway to bring Budapest up to speed in record time, as a deal would be needed ahead of the next gathering of EU leaders in Brussels on June 18-19.
