Hungary gives the green light to two clusters: Ukraine could open them as early as 13 October

What happened on 7 October

Hungary has lifted its block on the next stage of Ukraine’s EU accession talks. As Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha reported, on 7 October at the level of COREPER – the committee of permanent representatives of EU member states – the Hungarian side gave the “green light” to the negotiating positions on Cluster 2 “Internal Market” and Cluster 3 “Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth”.

“Ukraine’s accession to the EU is moving forward step by step. Ukraine and Hungary are together taking steps towards each other and towards European unity,” Sybiha wrote on X, thanking Anita Orbán for the “teamwork”.

According to Suspilne’s correspondent in Brussels, EU ambassadors on the same day approved sending letters with negotiating positions to Kyiv and Chișinău, signalling preparations for opening these two clusters. Now only the final steps remain.

The timetable: 12 and 13 October

If all conditions are met, on 12 October the member states are to agree common negotiating positions at intergovernmental conferences, and on 13 October Clusters 2 and 3 could be officially opened for Ukraine and Moldova, Suspilne reports, citing sources.

12 October is also an important date in Kyiv: according to Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, on that day parliament plans to resume work and consider a number of European integration bills, including those linked to unblocking the clusters.

The key to the deal: minority rights

Hungary had long blocked the opening of new clusters, linking its position to the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine. Back in June Kyiv and Budapest agreed to expand the linguistic, educational, cultural and political rights of the Hungarian community, after which all 27 EU states agreed to open the first cluster for Ukraine. On 1 September Hungarian representatives said they could change their position if Kyiv made progress in implementing legislation on the protection of national minorities.

This week a bill on the educational rights of Indigenous peoples and national minorities was registered in the Verkhovna Rada. As Ukrinform recalls, the head of the relevant committee, Serhii Babak, explained that the document is meant to regulate the educational rights of Indigenous peoples and of national minorities whose languages are official languages of the EU. The committee has already backed the bill.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi stressed that the document does not concern only the Hungarian minority but brings Ukrainian legislation in line with European standards. Asked whether Ukraine was sacrificing anything, he replied: “No, I don’t think so. It seems to me that our strength is in our diversity, and respect for national minorities is part of that strength.”

What comes next

According to Tykhyi, both Ukraine and Hungary are currently fulfilling their parts of the agreements. “We expect to manage this soon – two clusters fairly quickly and two more clusters by the end of the year. That is the timeline we see from the Ukrainian side,” the spokesman said.

Earlier President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed hope that Ukraine would open two more negotiating clusters in September–October and the rest by the end of 2026. The accession talks are divided into six thematic clusters; Ukraine has already opened the first, “Fundamentals”. Once Clusters 2 and 3 are open, three will remain, and the Foreign Ministry expects to open two of them by the end of the year.