Hungary Stalls EU Accession Talks for Ukraine and Moldova

BRUSSELS, September 2. /TASS/. Hungary has once again stalled the progress of negotiations on Ukraine and Moldova's accession to the European Union by suspending discussions on access to the single market and social policy, the Euractiv portal reported, citing sources.

According to them, Budapest refused to approve the opening of the second and third negotiating clusters, citing the requirement that Kiev first fulfill the agreement on the rights of ethnic Hungarians. The portal noted that the unanimous support of all 27 EU member states is required to open each stage of negotiations. Hungary had already raised similar concerns in July.

The EU accession negotiation process is divided into 33 sections (chapters), which are in turn grouped into six clusters. The start of negotiations sets no timeframe and does not guarantee EU admission. For instance, Montenegro, which could join the EU next year, has been negotiating for 14 years. Turkey formally remains a candidate and has been holding accession talks for nearly 21 years.