EU Says Hungary's Block Could Mean Moldova's Accession Moves Forward Without Ukraine
According to RFE/RL, The European Union is considering moving along in the accession process with Moldova while leaving Ukraine behind as Hungary continues to block Kyiv's membership drive.
Speaking to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in an interview on April 28 during a visit to Prague, EU Enlargement Minister Marta Kos said she couldn't rule out a "decoupling" of the two countries as soon as June, when a raft of enlargement decisions is expected to be made in Brussels.
"We are discussing already with the member states what to do because no member state is against starting to open the first cluster (of accession chapters) with Moldova," she said, noting Hungary's opposition to Ukraine's accession.
Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries, and Ukraine, torn apart by more than three years of war sparked by Russia's ongoing full-scale invasion, have so far proceeded hand-in-hand in the EU accession process.
Both applied for membership of the bloc shortly after thousands of Russian troops crossed over into Ukraine in early 2022. Last year the 27 EU member states gave both the green light to start accession talks.
The negotiations with Kyiv, however, have stalled with Budapest putting up a road block while it presses for improved rights of the Hungarian-speaking minority in Ukraine.
With all EU enlargement decisions needing unanimity, Hungary can effectively keep Ukraine out of the bloc as long as it deems necessary.
Decoupling countries vying for entrance into the bloc has been done before.
In September 2024, the EU decided to start negotiations with Albania while leaving North Macedonia behind as Skopje remained entangled in bilateral disputes with the EU member state Bulgaria over minority rights.
During the interview, Kos, who became enlargement commissioner in December 2024, said there was even a possibility Moldova could become a member state by the time her mandate finishes in 2029.
She said it would be considered a "failure if we will not get any newcomers into the EU in the times of the present European Commission."
Confident that both Western Balkan frontrunners Albania and Montenegro could become EU countries in the upcoming three or four years, Kos also left the door open for Chisinau as well.
"Moldova is really a good student in the whole group. They really feel this historical moment," she said.
"This is something which probably we haven't seen before, because it is a peace project, because they want to belong to the community of values and democracy. They are willing to do everything possible," she said.
Kos said it was regretful that Budapest is playing politics with Ukraine's membership, with Hungary going as far as holding a consultative referendum on Ukrainian EU membership in which the Moscow-friendly Fidesz government has spoken out against Kyiv joining the club.
"Ukraine has done enough, I can tell you from my personal experience because I was facilitating the dialogue between Hungary and Ukraine. And there were many points, and Ukraine is willing to fulfill all of them. But this is not enough for Hungary," Kos said.
