Hungary Again Blocks Ukraine's EU Talks Clusters 4 and 5

Hungary on Tuesday, October 27, refused to approve the screening results for negotiating clusters 4 and 5 in Ukraine's EU accession talks, EU diplomats told European Pravda. The decision came at a meeting of the EU Council working group on enlargement in Brussels.

"Hungary's position has not changed," one diplomat said.

The question was raised knowingly

According to the sources, the Irish presidency of the EU Council knew in advance that Hungary did not intend to change its stance. The item was nevertheless put on the agenda again on October 27. Another diplomat suggested that raising it a second time was more a political move, a way to pressure Budapest, than a real attempt to get a positive decision at this meeting.

What the two clusters cover

Cluster 4, "Green agenda and sustainable connectivity", covers transport, energy, trans-European networks, environment and climate change. Cluster 5, "Resources, agriculture and cohesion policy", includes agriculture, fisheries, regional policy and budget provisions.

These are the last two negotiating clusters not yet opened for Ukraine. Kyiv hopes to open them by the end of 2026. Approving the screening results is a procedural step needed before opening.

How we got here

European Pravda already reported on October 20 that Hungary had refused to agree the screening results for the two clusters. On October 13 the EU formally opened two other clusters with Ukraine: cluster 2, "Internal market", and cluster 3, "Competitiveness and inclusive growth". For this, the Verkhovna Rada approved changes to the education law to remove Hungary's veto.

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