EU's Costa Proposes Plan to Bypass Hungary's Veto on Ukraine

European Council President António Costa has initiated a plan to advance Ukraine's accession process to the European Union, attempting to bypass the veto used by Hungary. According to Politico, Costa is trying to gain the support of EU capitals to simplify the process of admitting new members and to break the deadlock over the accession of Ukraine and Moldova.

Under current rules, the unanimous consent of all 27 EU member states is required to start each stage of the accession negotiations. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, however, has consistently used his veto power, blocking Ukraine's progress.

To overcome this obstacle, Costa proposes changing the decision-making procedure. According to his proposal, the so-called "negotiating clusters" (the main legal steps towards membership) could be opened not by unanimity, but by the consent of a qualified majority of EU countries. However, closing a cluster would, as before, require the support of all member states.

This change would allow Ukraine and Moldova to begin the reform process without the risk of being blocked by Hungary. Thus, the President of the European Council is trying to diplomatically isolate Orbán and prevent further delays in the EU enlargement process, especially on the eve of the important summit in Copenhagen.