EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos believes that practical accession talks with Ukraine on all negotiating clusters will begin by the end of the year despite Hungary’s veto.
Source: Kos at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Kos said the preparatory processes for the negotiations have progressed at an unprecedented pace.
She reiterated the official position of the European Commission that the first cluster is ready to be opened and expressed hope that this will happen soon for both Ukraine and Moldova. The EU commissioner made no mention of Hungary, which continues to block any decision regarding Ukraine.
Instead, Kos shared memories of her first visit to Ukraine on 1 December 2024, admitting that she had initially been more sceptical. She described the talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Kos recollected that Zelenskyy had said at the time that Ukraine aimed to open all the negotiating clusters by the end of 2025. Her initial reaction had been to think that it was impossible, but she had chosen not to express that view at the time, as her diplomatic role required restraint.
Kos added that her response would be different now and that she would express confidence that all the clusters would be opened within the year and subsequently closed. She did not specify how she would overcome or lift the Hungarian veto.
Background: Earlier, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna stated that Hungary cannot block the start of Ukraine-EU negotiations.
Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
From Ukrainska Pravda via this RSS feed