[91745] EU Summit: Hungary blocks clauses on Ukraine's accession and suggests a meeting in Berehove

Diplomatic tension: Hungary influences EU documents

During the leaders' summit in Brussels, Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar stated that he had personally acted to change the concluding document of the European Council. According to reports in ЦАПЛІЄНКО_UKRAINE FIGHTS, Magyar noted that, on his initiative, a clause regarding the "acceleration of Ukraine's accession" to the EU was deleted—a step he described as "not simple" to carry out. Additional sources, including Цензор.НЕТ, emphasized that this was the first time in a year and a half that all 27 countries had reached an agreement on a joint statement regarding Ukraine, but this was done at the expense of softening the messages regarding the speed of the accession process.

Exchange regarding a summit meeting

Magyar expressed an explicit interest in holding a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the city of Berehove in the Zakarpattia region. As reported in Суспільне Новини, the leaders did indeed have a brief conversation on the sidelines of the conference. While Magyar claims he "would be happy to meet in Berehove," official Ukrainian sources are quoted in Політика.ua as preferring other locations such as Kyiv, Lviv, or Brussels.

Reactions and the Polish angle

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed the dispute and expressed support for Magyar's position on the issue of accelerating accession, noting that the move stemmed from an understanding of the internal political situation in Hungary, as reported in Новини Еспресо.TV. On the other hand, the Березовый сок channel criticized the lack of transparency on the part of the Ukrainian authorities regarding the nature of the agreements that were reached.

In addition, Donald Tusk stated that Poland demands to be a direct partner in any future negotiations with Russia and warned that without Warsaw's involvement, Poland may not recognize any arrangements that are formulated, according to a report in Times of Ukraine.