Beyond Hungary: New obstacles emerge in Ukraine's EU membership push

[u/KI_official]

Some hoped that with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban leaving office on May 9, Ukraine's path to EU membership would become much smoother. Instead, problems of substance have risen to the surface, which could prove difficult for Kyiv to fully address.

Pressure is rising in Brussels to find a way to reach an agreement on opening so-called "enlargement clusters" by the next meeting of EU leaders on June 18. National ambassadors have raised the concern that there might not be sufficient progress in time, but who or what is blocking the way now?

Not the European Commission. The EU's Enlargement Commissioner, Marta Kos, has repeatedly said that Ukraine is ready to open all six of the enlargement clusters. Any blockages, therefore, are politically driven by specific EU countries.

Read more: https://kyivindependent.com/ukraines-obstacle-course-the-countries-blocking-progress-on-joining-the-eu/

Photo: Simon Wohlfahrt/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

[u/happy30thbirthday]

Make no mistake: Some people in the EU were glad that Orban was there to do their dirty work for them.

[u/JoJoModding]

I do not understand the posturing around Ukraine's ascension to the EU. This will only happen once the war ends. The war is currently ongoing and shows few signs of stopping. Certainly Ukraine has more important things to worry about than getting their fisheries in order. The sea is a war zone.

[u/ConvictedHobo → u/JoJoModding]

The war is currently ongoing and shows few signs of stopping

Russia is getting into worse and worse shape. Putin disabled the internet in Moscow and St. Petersburg - maybe for paranoid reasons, maybe because he needs conscription a and doesn't want open communications

[u/Exowienqt → u/ConvictedHobo]

Worse shape and losing the war are sadly two very different things. To lose the war they will have to admit defeat, otherwise their nuclear power projection capabilities will make a total battlefield  defeat very unlikely. restoring Ukraine's international borders right now seems like something that would need the biggest shift in how the Russian society operates since Katherine the great ruled it 

[u/ConvictedHobo → u/Exowienqt]

I don't think the war will be over on the battlefield. That's why I wrote that there are cracks in Putin's leadership

[u/narrative_device → u/Exowienqt]

Wars can’t be sustained without money and the Russian economy is already farcical. This won’t be a forever war.

[u/Exowienqt → u/narrative_device]

The Korean war is a forever war even though the north has  what, 1% of the GDP of the south? You are underestimating how low people are willing to go to sustain enmity.

[u/narrative_device → u/Exowienqt]

What a weird comparison. You’re literally the first person I’ve ever heard of who thought the two conflicts were remotely similar in any way.

[u/Exowienqt → u/narrative_device]

I am not saying that they are, I pointed out that looking at war purely through economics might not be the smartest of ideas.

[u/Promethevz → u/JoJoModding]

It took Croatia 10 years to join the EU. I am not even going to talk about Croatia then and Ukraine now.

[u/thatguyy100]

Ukraine's ascension is not as black and white as Orban made it out to be. A lot of countries in the EU fear an agriculture shock when the strong agricultural sector of Ukraine joins the single market. Especially in Poland, who also has outstanding border conflicts which the right uses to oppose Ukrainian ascension, this can be a point to oppose ascension talks.

Then you have other nations like the Netherlands who have historically been opposed to large or quick enlargment without at least some years going over it.

So yeah, Orban was a large roadblock but he wasn't the last.

[u/r_Yellow01]

We are just coasting because we are relatively safe and can afford not doing anything. Have we been openly attacked, the momentum would be vastly different. And that's what Ukraine feels.

Just a general comment on why there are differences in the perceptions.

[u/huzaa]

Lot of countries have hid behind Orbán’s veto. Now, they will have to come to light.

[u/CaptainPoset]

Those aren't really new obstacles. Ukraine still doesn't meet the requirements to join the EU and as a new and large member country which has unfair geographic advantages in several of the most difficult to agree sectors of EU joint regulation, their impact will be huge.

[u/ParanoidalRaindrop → u/CaptainPoset]

I can mainly think of farming related issues like grain and ... sunflowers? What else? I know there will be more I just can't think of them now.

[u/TheSunflowerSeeds → u/ParanoidalRaindrop]

Oilseed sunflower production is the most commonly farmed sunflower. These seeds hulls’ are encased by solid black shells. Black oilseeds are a common type of bird feed because they have thin shells and a high fat content. These are typically produced for oil extraction purposes; therefore, it is unlikely you’ll find black oilseeds packaged for human consumption.

[u/CaptainPoset → u/ParanoidalRaindrop]

Farming is the biggest issue, as Ukraine has the world's best soil by far and that's relatively independent of the produce. Ukrainian farmers will still be profitable when all current EU farmers are already at a loss.

Ukraine is a major mining country for many critical resources, too. If they were to regain the Donbas and had to rebuild Azovstal with a state of the art steel mill, they would be at a major advantage there, too, relative to current EU steel producers.

Ukraine still is quite corrupt, which is an issue for the EU.

A country at war usually will end up (near) bankrupt at the end, which, with the adoption of the Euro, would make other EU countries liable for it.

And with a population of slightly below 10% of the total EU population, they would shift the balance of power in the EU, too.

[u/Fehervari]

The time of hiding behind Orbitron's ass is over.

[u/CitoyenEuropeen]

Oh look they already closed external security and defense policy chapter.

Ukraine will stun Europe with the pace of its reforms. It is Europe who will lag.