Ukraine is in a position to open and "immediately" close several chapters of the accession process after the lifting of Hungary's two-year-long veto, António Costa, the president of the European Council, told Euronews in an exclusive interview.
"Fortunately, we didn't lose time during this period" of paralysis," he said, referencing a three-year long impasse on Ukraine's membership aspirations under former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who vowed to veto its entry.
Speaking on the sidelines of the EU-Western Balkans summit in Tivat, Montenegro, Costa said technical work carried out on the margins means Ukraine has pushed through reforms independently of the veto. "We are very advanced," he told Euronews.
Costa also welcomed what he described as a "positive change in attitude" from new Prime Minister Péter Magyar following a major breakthrough this week with Budapest lifting its veto on Ukraine after securing a bilateral deal with Ukraine over minority rights in the Transcarpathian region after weeks of intense negotiations.
"I think it's very important, first of all, for the bilateral relations between Hungary and Ukraine," Costa said, suggesting the country-to-country difficulties should not impact the overall accession process with the EU institutions.
