EU states push for June start to Ukraine membership talks

Several EU countries on Tuesday called for the bloc to start membership negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova in June, but Hungary threatened to throw a spanner in the works.

The 27-nation EU took the landmark step in December of agreeing to open talks on its war-torn neighbor — and fellow ex-Soviet state Moldova — joining the club.

But to actually begin the negotiations the bloc’s member states still have to sign off on a formal framework for the process, proposed in March by Brussels.

At a meeting in Brussels, France’s EU affairs minister Jean-Noel Barrot called for “the effective opening of negotiations” before Belgium’s rotating presidency concludes at the end of June.

That statement was echoed by other ministers — including from Ireland and Sweden.

The push to move Ukraine onto the next step in its quest for EU membership comes amid fears that Hungary, the friendliest country with Moscow in the bloc, could stall progress when it takes over the presidency after Belgium.

Budapest has been hostile to Kyiv’s bid to join, arguing that Ukraine is getting pushed ahead in the queue without meeting the required criteria.

“There can be no exception on the basis of political or ideological considerations,” Hungarian minister Zoltan Kovacs said.

“There is very little, if any, progress. Again, I can repeat to you that membership, approval should be a merit based process. No exceptions.”

Another possible hurdle could come from a new right-wing government being formed in The Netherlands opposed to any new enlargement of the bloc.

Ukraine applied to join the EU shortly after Russia launched all-out invasion in February 2022.

Starting the negotiations would put Ukraine still only at the start of what is likely to be a years-long process of reforms before it can finally become a member.