Hungary agrees to launch Ukraine EU accession talks, says PM

Hungary has agreed to the start of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, with talks set to begin on June 15, Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced.

In a video address published on Facebook, Magyar said the move is only the first step in a process expected to take many years.

“Since the Ukrainian government has officially committed itself to implementing the historic agreement [on the rights of Hungarians in Transcarpathia] (...) Hungary was able to agree to the opening of the first negotiating cluster between the EU and Ukraine on Monday, June 15,” the politician said.

He stressed that EU accession is a long-term process. As an example, Magyar pointed to Montenegro, noting that its membership negotiations began in 2012 and have yet to be completed.

By Jeyhun Aghazada