Hungary agrees to opening of negotiating clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine

Hungary has agreed to allow Ukraine to move forward in its EU accession negotiations, clearing the way for the opening of Clusters 2 (Internal Market) and 3 (Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth).

Source: European Pravda, citing an EU source familiar with the negotiations

Details: Budapest has lifted the block that until now had prevented Ukraine from moving to the next stage in the procedure for opening negotiating clusters 2 and 3.
"COELA [the Working Party on Enlargement and Countries Negotiating Accession to the EU] has approved the screening results for Clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine, and today at Coreper, the EU member states' ambassadors agreed to send letters to the governments of Ukraine and Moldova inviting them to present their negotiating positions," the European Pravda source said.

The source said the next procedural steps could be completed very quickly.

The EU's draft negotiating position on both clusters is due to be drawn up at a COELA meeting in the coming days.

EU member states are expected to be able to agree on the negotiating position for opening the clusters as early as Monday 12 October, after the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) adopts legislative amendments on education in national minority languages.

Once the EU negotiating position has been approved, a Ukraine-EU intergovernmental conference could be held the following day, 13 October, and Clusters 2 and 3 could be formally opened.

Hungary had blocked approval of the screening results for these clusters for several months, preventing Ukraine from moving on to the next procedural stages required for them to be opened.