Opening of Clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine Postponed Until September Due to Hungary’s Position

The opening of EU accession negotiation clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine and Moldova has been postponed until September after Hungary refused to approve the screening results at a meeting of the Council of the EU’s Working Party on Enlargement (COELA) on July 22. A second attempt also failed, and the issue will now be revisited during the next round scheduled for Sept. 1, before the autumn negotiations proceed. Background reports say Hungary previously blocked similar steps at the technical level and supported a limited approach for Moldova instead.