Hungary lifts veto on Ukraine's EU accession, ending two-year deadlock

Hungary has lifted its two-year-long veto on Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union, allowing the process to enter its next phase of negotiations and ending a political saga that sent relations between Budapest and Kyiv to an all-time low.

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The sought-after breakthrough took place on Wednesday evening in a meeting of ambassadors in Brussels, during which the Hungarian envoy lifted the reservations and allowed the 27 member states to unanimously initiate the process, two diplomats confirmed to Euronews.

Accession consists of 33 chapters split into six thematic clusters.

The first cluster, known as fundamentals because it covers the rule of law, human rights and the judiciary, is the first and last to be opened in the complex process.

For the past two years, Ukraine and Moldova, which are informally coupled as candidates, have been trying to unlock the first cluster.

But the veto imposed by former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, just as his country took the reins of the EU Council’s presidency, froze the trajectory.

Since then, Brussels has been trying to get around the veto in various ways. The change was only made possible after Orbán was roundly defeated in the polls by Péter Magyar, who promised to restore ties between Hungary and Ukraine.

In a video posted on Facebook, Magyar confirmed the progress made in consultations with the Ukrainian government.

Following Wednesday’s meeting, the EU Council will send a letter to Ukraine and Moldova, which will then respond with their positions for ambassadors to assess.

The intergovernmental conference, which marks the formal starting point, is expected to take place on either 15 or 16 June in Luxembourg.

This is a developing story.