The fact that all formal membership negotiations are blocked by Hungary is both regrettable and unacceptable, believes EU Minister Jessica Rosencrantz (M).
"It is contrary to the framework that we have agreed upon. We have all said that when a candidate country meets the requirements we set, we will also initiate membership negotiations," she says by phone to TT, on her way back from an EU ministerial meeting in Lviv in western Ukraine.
For now, the rest of the EU will have to content itself with technically helping Ukraine to be as prepared as possible on the day – if ever – that Hungary lifts its veto.
At the same time, there is also strong pressure on the need for continued work against corruption. The recent events surrounding the sacking of advisors and ministers in Ukraine are seen as examples of how this work is working.
"The fact that it's being discovered shows that there is an institutional capability. But it's obviously something that we take very seriously," says Rosencrantz.
