Lithuania presses EU to act on Ukraine as Hungary blocks accession
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As tensions between Budapest and Kyiv flare again, hopes are fading that Hungary will lift its veto on the start of Ukraine’s European Union accession talks. Lithuania, however, is urging a workaround to break the deadlock.
In a letter sent last week to EU capitals ahead of the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Copenhagen on September 1–2, Vilnius argued the bloc must take “decisive action” to make Ukraine’s membership bid “tangible and irreversible.”
The letter, seen by LRT, said opening talks would bolster both Ukrainian morale and the country’s reform drive at a time when Russia is intensifying its war. Failure to act, it warned, risks weakening public support in Ukraine and undermining institutional will for reforms.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a vocal critic of Ukraine, has blocked the launch of negotiations. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski acknowledged earlier this year that his country’s EU presidency in the first half of 2025 failed to open a single negotiation chapter with Ukraine because of Hungary’s veto.
Orbán recently received a call from U.S. President Donald Trump over the matter. But Budapest’s stance is unlikely to shift soon, particularly after fresh diplomatic clashes erupted following Ukrainian strikes on the Druzhba oil pipeline, which supplies Hungary and Slovakia.
Both countries urged the European Commission to prevent further attacks, calling the pipeline “irreplaceable” for their energy needs. Kyiv countered that Hungary’s position was the issue, noting that the rest of Europe was no longer dependent on Russian energy.
Lithuania’s proposal calls for beginning negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova at a technical level without Hungary, if 26 member states agree. Formal approval could follow later, should Budapest change its stance or its government.
The letter also reiterated Lithuania’s longstanding call to set 2030 as a target date for Ukraine’s EU accession, arguing it would help both sides plan reforms and resources.
Acting Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys told LRT that Lithuania is pushing to “unblock” Ukraine’s path: “Any further delay is geopolitically harmful to both Ukraine and the EU. Ukraine’s membership is part of Europe’s security guarantees and essential for long-term peace and stability.”
The proposals are expected to be discussed in Copenhagen, where ministers led by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas will focus largely on the Ukraine war and the Middle East.
Still, the European Commission has signaled scepticism about bypassing unanimity. Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho told reporters Tuesday that “to open any negotiation chapter requires unanimity,” adding that while Brussels continues to support Ukraine’s reforms, the decision rests with the Council.
Photo: From left to right: Viktor ORBÁN (Prime Minister, Hungary), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY (President of Ukraine, Ukraine)
