Brussels is developing an alternative scenario for launching accession negotiations with Ukraine that would bypass Hungary. European Pravda says initial steps to implement the plan have already been taken, although officials are avoiding public statements on the matter.

Source: European Pravda article

Details: The EU is reportedly actively discussing a so-called "Plan B" that would allow the start of negotiations with Kyiv even if Budapest continues to block a joint decision.

Sources in Brussels confirm that certain legal actions under this plan were taken as early as last week, though they have not been officially disclosed.

The core of the alternative plan – described in Brussels as "parallel negotiations" – is still ahead. Its implementation could begin in August or September if diplomatic efforts to persuade Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán fail.

The essence of the idea is to make full use of the flexibility of EU law. Wherever unanimity is not required, Ukraine will be able to continue with technical and legal steps towards membership. And in areas where the consent of all member states is necessary, 26 EU countries (all except Hungary) will conduct "parallel negotiations" with Kyiv, which will, where possible, be synchronised with talks with Moldova to maintain the impression that the joint integration of these states is preserved.

Although the "parallel track" with Ukraine will not carry legal weight, it will have significant political importance.

At the same time as Moldova and the EU announce the opening of the first cluster (or clusters) of negotiations, Ukraine and the 26 EU states are to publish an official statement that Ukraine has also completed all the work on those same clusters and that all EU countries except Hungary will hold negotiations with Kyiv on the corresponding chapters.

Several EU sources told European Pravda that intergovernmental conferences with Ukraine may even be convened – the working body whose decisions are crucial in the enlargement process. The negotiation framework for Ukraine, approved by the EU, does not require unanimity to convene a conference and even obliges the EU to do so from time to time.

There is also an idea to hold some of the conferences jointly for Ukraine and Moldova.

For Moldova, these conferences may result in a formal recognition that Chișinău has fulfilled the next set of conditions and the EU will take legal steps towards membership, while for Ukraine they would provide political recognition of the same progress and a statement that the only obstacle to legal advancement remains Hungary’s veto.

The idea of "parallel negotiations" is that, once Budapest’s position changes – or the government changes – Kyiv could quickly catch up on the missed legal steps.

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