Brussels, 16/11/2023 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 15 November, Hungary’s Minister for European Affairs, János Bóka, warned that his country would not unconditionally grant Ukraine the opening of its EU accession negotiations. “We need a period of reflection and a strategic debate on the EU’s policy towards Ukraine”, he explained. In his view, his country will not be in a position to take a decision on the accession process until such time. The Minister pointed out that, according to the European Commission’s report, Ukraine did not meet all the conditions initially set for granting candidate status (see EUROPE 12974/1). “We should adhere to the conclusions of the European Council (of June 2022), which state that the Council should only tackle the next stages of the enlargement process once these conditions have been fully met”, stressed the Minister. (CG)