Hungarian PM Magyar pushes EU to water down stance on Ukraine accession
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The conclusions of the meeting of EU leaders on June 18 have been watered down, at the insistence of Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar, to reduce the urgency of advancing Ukraine's EU accession process.
Three days prior, the EU opened the first of six so-called enlargement clusters for Ukraine and Moldova, to-do lists that they must complete to become the union's member states. It was expected that the remaining five clusters would open in July at the latest.
The draft conclusions for the EU leaders' summit, seen by the Kyiv Independent, read that the European Council "looks forward to the opening of the other clusters as soon as possible, in line with the merits-based approach."
The final conclusions agreed on the evening of June 18 have deleted the wording "as soon as possible."
Magyar tweeted, "At my initiative, a clause referring to accelerating accession was removed from the text at the very last moment. It wasn't easy," after leaders finished meeting late on June 18.
Two EU diplomats confirmed separately to the Kyiv Independent that Magyar had pushed for this change, which, while small, potentially carries big implications.
One of them said that their prime minister had informed them that Budapest wanted to emphasize that Ukraine would have to adopt all the rules, and that Kyiv would not be able to cut corners.
The other added that they were not surprised as Hungary's objection had "been hanging over things for a while."
Magyar presented it as an example of how he can represent Hungary better at the European level than his predecessor, Viktor Orban.
"That's how it can be done, if someone comes not just to flip tables and sow fear, but strives to find a compromise," Magyar said.
Though not as serious a disruption for Ukraine as Viktor Orban's liberal use of the veto, these changes still come as a blow to President Volodymyr Zelensky, who insisted on Ukraine getting a fast-track EU membership during the G7 summit held the same week.
Magyar had previously suggested that he sees Ukraine joining the EU only in 10-15 years, a timeline much further into the future than most dates being floated by Ukraine and its European allies.
Zelensky left the June 18 meeting of EU leaders early, after which he told journalists that "partners are great, they are our friends, we will open all the clusters, I am sure of this. We deserve it, and we will not give up."
