When freshly sworn-in Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar lifted Hungary's long-standing veto on Ukraine's EU membership bid in early June, many in Brussels and Kyiv breathed a sigh of relief.
The move signalled the end of Viktor Orbán's years-long policy of blocking Ukrainian accession, and was welcomed by both Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President António Costa, both staunch supporters of Ukrainian accession.
But Magyar has been quick to temper expectations in Brussels. At his first European Council summit in June, he made clear to fellow leaders that he opposed any fast-tracking of Ukraine's path to membership.
Speaking to reporters after the June summit, Magyar said he had requested the deletion of a passage in the joint conclusions that called for opening all remaining negotiating clusters with Ukraine "as soon as possible".
"We removed a lot from the text to avoid any explicit suggestion that, now that the first cluster has been opened, all the others will suddenly be opened as well," he said. "We do not think that would be a good idea."
