Hungary signalled that it could drop its long-standing opposition to Ukraine beginning formal European Union membership talks, four diplomats told Politico on June 2, 2026. The reported shift could also allow Moldova’s candidacy to move forward, but Budapest had not publicly confirmed a final decision.
Three diplomats said the EU planned to open the first negotiating cluster for both countries at an intergovernmental conference in Luxembourg on June 15. Opening a cluster requires unanimous support from all 27 member states, giving every national government the ability to halt progress at each stage. Ukraine and Moldova applied on the same timetable, and diplomats treated movement on their bids as linked.
Budapest had strongly opposed Ukraine’s accession under former prime minister Viktor Orbán. The new Hungarian leadership privately indicated greater openness after Ukrainian and Hungarian experts met on June 1 to discuss the rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority in Ukraine, according to the diplomats. Kyiv offered assurances on most issues contained in an 11-point plan developed during Orbán’s tenure.
One diplomat said Ukraine could not satisfy every request immediately, but that Hungary was not making its approval dependent on new Ukrainian legislation. The discussion placed minority protections at the centre of the diplomatic effort to unlock the accession process.
A Hungarian official offered a more cautious account, saying no decision had been taken and negotiations were continuing without an agreement. That statement meant the diplomats’ description was a report of private signals rather than a completed reversal of policy. EU ambassadors were expected to consider Ukraine’s internal reform plans and its response on minority rights before finalising their position.
The talks also intersected with Hungary’s own relationship with EU institutions. One diplomat linked the faster pace to Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s meetings in Brussels about releasing €16.4 billion in frozen EU funds. The supplied evidence did not establish any formal exchange between that money and the accession decision, but the issues were moving through the same high-level relationship.
Opening the first cluster would begin structured negotiations rather than guarantee membership. Candidate states must complete multiple policy areas, adopt required reforms and maintain unanimous political support through subsequent stages. Hungary or any other member could still block later steps.
The immediate importance of Budapest’s signal was therefore procedural. It suggested that a veto preventing talks from starting might be removed in time for the Luxembourg meeting. Until Hungary formally joined a unanimous decision, however, Ukraine and Moldova remained short of the approval required to advance. The scheduled conference made that unresolved decision immediately consequential.
