EU opens two more accession clusters with Ukraine

European Union member states opened two more clusters of Ukraine's accession talks at a ceremony in Luxembourg on Tuesday, Oct. 13: internal market, and competitiveness and inclusive growth. Ukraine now has four of six clusters open, according to Euronews. Moldova is moving in parallel and opened the same two.

Hungary had blocked both. It gave way when the Rada, Ukraine's parliament, passed a law on Monday, Oct. 12, regulating teaching in minority languages, something Budapest had demanded for years. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed it the same day. Under Prime Minister Péter Magyar, whose Tisza party won the April election, Hungary has taken a more pragmatic tone than under his predecessor, Viktor Orbán.

The law gives special status to secondary schools where more than half of the students study in an official EU minority language. Parliament estimates that 149 schools, about 1.2% of the total, could qualify, according to Kyiv Post. Ukrainian remains the official language of instruction, and Russian is not covered by the protections. The Hungarian minority, concentrated in Zakarpattia, numbers around 100 000 people.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said that "behind these technical names there will be real benefits for Ukrainians," according to The Kyiv Independent. Ukraine has been a candidate since 2022, but opening a cluster is not membership: closing each one requires unanimity among the 27 member states.

Two clusters remain to be opened. The European Commission and the Irish presidency of the Council want to open them before the end of 2026, although some countries fear competition from Ukrainian agriculture.

Hungarian and Ukrainian diplomats are preparing a meeting between Zelensky and Magyar in Brussels this week, possibly alongside the European summit on Oct. 15 and 16. Euronews reported that there was no date or official confirmation yet.