Lviv Hosts Informal EU Council Meeting Focused on Ukraine’s Path to Membership

An informal meeting of the EU’s General Affairs Council convened in Lviv on Thursday, bringing together senior European officials to discuss speeding up Ukraine’s and Moldova’s EU accession progress.

The Gaze reports this, referring to a post by Lviv regional governor Maksym Kozytskyy.

The meeting includes EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Marta Kos, Denmark’s Minister for European Affairs Marie Bjerre, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka, as well as ministers and diplomats from several EU member states.

Participants are expected to examine the introduction of a “frontloading” approach – a provisional mechanism that would allow Ukraine and Moldova to begin preparing for the next phases of accession negotiations even before they are formally approved. The proposal is intended to mitigate the impact of Hungary’s ongoing veto on moving the accession process forward.

Kozytskyy stressed that holding such a meeting in Lviv carries “strong political weight” and sends an unmistakable message of European solidarity with Ukraine.

The governor thanked Denmark, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, and Minister Bjerre for their steadfast backing of Ukraine. He also expressed gratitude to all EU member states for their unity, resilience, and collective efforts to strengthen Ukraine and the European project during a critical moment for the continent. EU Commissioner Marta Kos is currently in Ukraine for a two-day visit.

The meeting comes as the European Parliament calls on the EU Council to formally recognize that Hungary poses “a clear risk of a serious breach of EU values” under Article 7(1) of the EU Treaty that could eventually lead to the suspension of Budapest’s voting rights in the Council.

As The Gaze reported earlier, the EU is considering a new proposal that would allow countries to join the bloc without full voting rights in order to speed up enlargement and circumvent resistance from certain members.

Read more on The Gaze: How Ukraine Is Integrating into the EU Prior to Official Membership