Denmark’s EU Presidency Could Unblock Ukraine’s Accession Talks

Ukraine hopes that Denmark’s presidency of the Council of the European Union, which began on July 1, will help remove political obstacles to opening the first negotiation clusters in the country’s EU accession process, The Gaze reports, citing Ukrinform.

According to the First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine had aimed to open the clusters in the first half of 2025, but was blocked due to political resistance from Hungary.

“We wanted the clusters to be opened in the first half of this year, but due to the politicization of the process and Hungary’s obstruction, this did not happen,” he said.

He expressed hope that Denmark’s leadership would help resolve the political deadlock. “The European Commission has already clearly stated that Ukraine is ready to open the first negotiation cluster,” he added.

 “The position of the Commission and the majority of EU member states is that Ukraine should already begin the process. So now we are working to remove the political obstacles posed by the mentioned country.”

Hungary remains the only EU member state still blocking the opening of Ukraine’s first negotiation cluster, despite support from the other 26 EU leaders at the June 26 summit.

As The Gaze previously reported, on 1 July, Denmark began its presidency of the Council of the European Union, which will last until 31 December 2025. This right was transferred to the country from Poland.