Hungary has again refused to approve the screening results for the final two clusters of Ukraine’s EU accession talks, blocking a step needed before negotiations can move forward.

Hungary’s representative withheld approval at a meeting of the EU Council’s enlargement working party, COELA, in Brussels on Tuesday 10 November, European Pravda reported, citing EU sources. “No change,” one EU diplomat told the paper of Budapest’s position. It was the second refusal in three weeks, after Budapest first blocked the step on 20 October. The screening results for the same two clusters for Moldova were also not approved.

What the two blocked clusters cover

Cluster 4, “Green agenda and sustainable connectivity”, covers transport, energy, trans-European networks, the environment and climate change. Cluster 5, “Resources, agriculture and cohesion”, covers agriculture, food safety, fisheries, regional policy and financial and budgetary provisions. Approving screening results is a preliminary step; opening each cluster requires agreement from all 27 member states.

Four clusters open, two still shut

Ukraine has opened four of its six clusters: the fundamentals in June, external relations in July, and the internal market and competitiveness clusters on 13 October, after Hungary dropped an earlier objection once the Verkhovna Rada passed amendments on minority-language schooling. The European Commission’s 2026 enlargement report says Kyiv could conclude talks by the end of 2028, and Moldova by early 2028.

Budapest has not set out new conditions. Deputy Prime Minister Vsevolod Chentsov said on 4 November that Hungary was making no new demands and needed more time to examine documents. Cluster 5 is sensitive for Ukraine’s farm sector: Kyiv has rejected permanent EU curbs on its grain exports after accession. Some EU diplomats already expect the two candidates to be decoupled, letting Moldova move ahead without waiting for Budapest to settle its differences with Kyiv.