EU ambassadors from member states on Friday “agreed in principle” to a negotiating framework for both Ukraine and Moldova, meaning the countries are ready for the formal start of accession talks. Almost, that is: The Dutch parliament still has to sign off, which is expected to happen after a planned June 20th parliamentary debate.
According to Euractiv, the Belgian EU presidency has already scheduled the first session of the next step—the Intergovernmental Conferences—for June 25th.
After the Commission last week declared the countries “sufficiently ready,” it was another example of a race against the clock for the Belgian presidency, which on several issues has tried to squeeze as many policy changes as possible through before handing over the position to Hungary on July 1st.
Hungary has been supportive of EU enlargement in general, but has had concerns about moving ahead with Ukraine’s membership. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has questioned the wisdom in admitting a country actively engaged in a war, and has also been opposed to Ukraine’s accession based on the country’s failure to give its Hungarian minority population its rights. After a meeting between the two countries’ foreign ministers in January, which resulted in a preliminary agreement, talks have been ongoing.
What finally made Hungary agree to moving forward was additions to the negotiating framework specifically aimed at improving the rights of ethnic minorities in Ukraine. According to Euractiv, the language is similar to that previously included in frameworks for Albania and North Macedonia in 2020. The news outlet reports that the text reads:
Ukraine will adopt, through an inclusive process, an Action Plan dedicated to the protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, including inter alia, in the field of non-discrimination, fight against hate speech, the use of minority languages and minority language education, setting up effective measures, reporting mechanisms and identifying respective responsible institutions. … The rights of persons belonging to national minorities should be protected, in line with the constitution of Ukraine. … Furthermore, Ukraine is expected to implement in good faith relevant bilateral agreements with EU member states.
A formal agreement could be presented when member states’ foreign ministers meet on June 21st.
