EU forges ahead with membership for Ukraine and Moldova after Orbán’s exit

AYIA NAPA, Cyprus — Ukraine and Moldova will be able to move forward with the process of joining the EU following Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s election defeat, diplomats and officials said, ending a four-year stalemate over their applications.

The two countries have seen their path to membership delayed after being granted candidate status in 2022, with Orbán vetoing the formal initiation of negotiating “clusters” — the groups of reforms and undertakings candidate countries have to achieve before joining. Those discussions should begin shortly, said four EU officials and diplomats with knowledge of the negotiations, granted anonymity to discuss confidential talks.

After the EU finally managed to unlock its €90 billion loan to Ukraine, “now it’s time to look forward” to the “next step” which is its EU membership bid, European Council President António Costa said on the way into a summit of EU leaders in Cyprus on Thursday, after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The first legal step on Kyiv’s path to joining the EU, the opening of cluster one, has been blocked by Hungary for years, but could finally move with a new government in Budapest, officials said.

Ukraine is anticipating the opening of its clusters in the “coming weeks,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka told POLITICO in a video call.

Kachka, who’s in charge of Kyiv’s membership bid, said he is eyeing a meeting of European affairs ministers on May 26 as a target for opening the first negotiating cluster. Though Brussels and Kyiv have already been informally negotiating, the decision to officially move forward must be taken unanimously by all 27 EU governments — and Hungary has so far blocked progress.

Orbán will hand over power next month to opposition leader Péter Magyar, who has said that he does not support a “fast track” entry for Kyiv, but that he will not stand in the way of the usual process being followed. That takes several years and needs the implementation of wide-ranging reforms. It has not been achieved by any country since Croatia joined the EU in 2013.

Budapest will “accept the countries that are ready to join rather than making them wait in line because that wouldn’t be in the interest of the European people,” Magyar said.

Anti-corruption

By the time EU leaders gather in June, Kachka said it would be possible to open all active negotiating clusters for Ukraine. EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos “mentioned June at least for the first cluster. I think that we can do all clusters there as well,” he said.

Zelenskyy, Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met on the sidelines of Thursday’s leaders’ summit in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, where they “called for the opening of negotiation clusters without delay” in a joint statement.

The EU previously voiced concerns about anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine, and some Ukrainian lawmakers have objected to changes being demanded by Brussels. Kachka said these objections were a normal part of the democratic process, but that rule-of-law reforms were under way.

Despite the optimism, the process will still be challenging. Capitals have already pushed back on the idea new countries could be waved through for geopolitical reasons, amid concerns that future governments could backslide on democracy and the rule of law, creating another confrontation like they have seen from Hungary. However, a broader discussion about reforming the process or admitting new members without full rights has not yet gotten off the ground.

“With the present Hungarian government it is possible to go on with the €90 billion loan, and with the new government, we will go on to with the accession process,” Kos said Wednesday.

EU leaders pose for a group photograph in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, on April 23, 2026. | Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images

Responding to reports France and Germany want to offer Ukraine “symbolic” membership in the EU, Kachka brushed away the idea. “The only model of accession that we pursue is a full classical, normal … accession to the European Union according to methodology,” he said. It remains realistic for Kyiv to have completed most of the steps it needs to join the EU by the end of 2027, he added.

“2027 is really good, at least for closing majority of chapters,” he said. “And of course … also to start to even draft the treaty of accession.”

Ukraine is defending itself and Europe, Zelenskyy said as he joined the EU leaders in Cyprus on Thursday.

“And it is not defending Europe symbolically ― people are really dying … We are defending shared European values,” he said. “I believe we deserve full membership in the European Union.”

‘Whatever it takes’

Moldova has seen its path to join the EU held up as a result of the spat over Ukraine, with its membership application twinned with Kyiv’s. A Moldovan official, granted anonymity to speak frankly, confirmed the country is anticipating a way forward in the coming weeks but stressed the importance of progress before the summer.

“Europe proved that we have the capacity to support Ukraine not only in the past, but also in the future,” Costa told POLITICO. “And we will continue because we will support Ukraine, for as long as necessary and whatever it takes.”

Gabriel Gavin and Sebastian Starcevic reported from Ayia Napa. Nicholas Vinocur reported from Athens. Martina Sapio reported from Brussels. Max Griera contributed reporting from Brussels.