When freshly sworn-in Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar lifted Hungary’s long-standing veto on Ukraine’s EU membership bid in early June, many in Brussels and Kyiv breathed a sigh of relief.
The move signalled the end of Viktor Orbán’s years-long policy of blocking Ukrainian accession, and was welcomed by both Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President António Costa, both staunch supporters of Ukrainian accession.
But Magyar has been quick to temper expectations in Brussels. At his first European Council summit in June, he made clear to fellow leaders that he opposed any fast-tracking of Ukraine’s path to membership.
Speaking to reporters after the June summit, Magyar said he had requested the deletion of a passage in the joint conclusions that called for opening all remaining negotiating clusters with Ukraine “as soon as possible”.
“We removed a lot from the text to avoid any explicit suggestion that, now that the first cluster has been opened, all the others will suddenly be opened as well,” he said. “We do not think that would be a good idea.”
Why did Magyar approve opening the first cluster?
Magyar made his opposition to Ukraine’s fast-track membership a central plank of his election campaign, and he has maintained since taking office.
“It’s a matter of fact that he is not a pro-Ukrainian politician, and the representatives of the new Hungarian government are not talking transparently and honestly to the Hungarian public about the accession of Ukraine to the European Union,” Dániel Hegedűs, Deputy Director of the Institut für Europäische Politik, told Euronews.
According to Hegedűs, Magyar lifted the veto on the first cluster principally to signal his government’s constructive new approach towards the EU.
“This is practically re-establishing Hungary as a trustworthy and constructive partner on the EU stage. And it was a very fundamental expectation from EU partners.”
Shortly before lifting the veto, Magyar struck a political agreement with von der Leyen on the release of €16.4 billion in previously frozen EU funds for Hungary. Both sides stressed that the funds deal was unrelated to the decision on Ukraine.
Why is Magyar resisting further progress?
Last week, Hungary blocked a joint EU position at working-party level in Brussels on opening the remaining five negotiating clusters.
“The first cluster has only just been opened,” Magyar said. “The ink is barely dry on the decision.”
In parallel, the European Commission scaled back its own ambitions: its goal is now to open two clusters with Ukraine in July, rather than all five.
“The further moves are not seen as essential by stakeholders of the new Hungarian government to maintain the same image, and there is also no immediate political benefit that Magyar can hope to achieve from improving the bilateral relationship with President Zelenskyy,” Hegedűs said.
Magyar also framed his position as a defence of Western Balkans candidates – Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia – which have spent years, and in some cases decades, working towards EU membership.
“It also sends the wrong message to the Western Balkan countries that have spent years working towards EU membership,” he said. “Some have even changed their names; others have rewritten large parts of their constitutions.”
The minority rights deal
The opening of the first cluster followed a bilateral agreement between Hungary and Ukraine on the educational and language rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine – a point of tension between Budapest and Kyiv for years.
Magyar’s precondition for lifting the veto was that the needs of the Hungarian community in the Transcarpathia region be addressed.
His Tisza Party now argues that any further progress on accession requires Kyiv to implement the deal, the details of which have not been made public in either capital.
“If they are now arguing that they would like to see the implementation of the minority deal before opening those clusters, I am simply asking whether they actually communicated this position to the Ukrainian side during those bilateral negotiations,” Hegedűs said. “I think it is very difficult to argue that the Hungarian government is acting in good faith.”
Magyar had earlier said he was prepared to meet President Zelenskyy in Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region once the agreement was reached. That meeting has not yet taken place.
Hegedűs also rejected Magyar’s argument that Western Balkans accession should take precedence over Ukraine, noting that many candidates from the region have moved quickly through the opening of negotiating clusters.
Domestic politics loom large
While Orbán lost this spring’s election by a wide margin, a large portion of Hungarian society remains sceptical about Ukraine’s EU aspirations – a reality that means Magyar must tread carefully.
“Survey data from last year clearly show that the majority of Hungarian society opposes Ukraine’s EU accession. But those attitudes were shaped in a media ecosystem where Orbán’s anti-Ukrainian propaganda was part of everyday media consumption,” Hegedűs said.
Magyar is also frequently described as a nationalist figure, having spent years in Orbán’s Fidesz party before breaking with it in 2024. He has recently drawn criticism for a remark suggesting that Hungary was one of the few countries in the world to border itself.
“If I were to rationalise the whole thing, Magyar would like to avoid criticism from Fidesz and the far-right Mi Hazánk party for being too soft on Ukraine. We know that he is not really pro-Ukrainian in his attitudes,” Hegedűs said.
The next test, the analyst added, will come at the EU’s General Affairs Council, where member states are due to decide on opening two additional negotiating clusters for Ukraine and Moldova.