EU Sets September 1 Retry to Open Clusters 2-3 for Moldova and Ukraine After Hungary's Repeated Veto

The EU Council's Working Party on Enlargement (COELA) is set to resume work on September 1 to reconsider approving screening results needed to open accession negotiation clusters 2 and 3 for Moldova and Ukraine, after Hungary blocked the same approval twice in July — on July 17 and again on July 22, when Budapest offered to support only Moldova's cluster 3 while continuing to block both clusters for Ukraine, an approach the rest of the EU did not accept. The impasse has left Moldova's own accession progress procedurally tied to Ukraine's, despite Chisinau's cluster readiness, since COELA approvals for both candidates have so far moved as a package.