Hungary has thrown cold water on Ukraine’s hopes of joining the European Union by 2030, with Foreign Minister Szijjártóné Orbán calling that timeline unrealistic during a press appearance in Vilnius. Her remarks open a fresh divide among EU member states over how fast Kyiv should move through the accession process.
Orbán insisted that every candidate country must follow the identical path Hungary followed, with no shortcuts or bespoke arrangements. She rejected any accelerated track for Ukraine, framing the issue as one of procedural fairness across all applicants.
However, the Hungarian minister did acknowledge genuine progress in Kyiv’s reform efforts. Ukraine has already opened four of six negotiation chapters, a development Orbán credited to warming bilateral ties. She pointed specifically to a breakthrough agreement protecting the rights of ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine’s Zakarpattia region.
The tone from Lithuania could hardly differ more. Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys argued that setting a concrete target date for accession remains both possible and necessary. He maintained that wrapping up all procedures by 2030 stays within reach, provided Ukraine pushes reforms at speed and Brussels completes its own required steps without delay.
Meanwhile, the European Commission’s latest report paints a mixed picture. The document highlights meaningful reform progress despite Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion, and it confirms that conditions have been met to open three additional negotiation clusters.
Yet the same report flags a troubling gap. Ukraine continues to trail Moldova on the membership path, largely because anti-corruption results have fallen short of expectations. As a result, Kyiv faces mounting pressure to demonstrate that its institutional cleanup matches its diplomatic ambitions.
The coming months will likely determine whether Ukraine can convert reform momentum into broader political support across all twenty-seven member states.
