Key facts
- President Zelensky arrived in Ireland on July 1 to mark the start of the country's EU Council presidency.
- Ireland's presidency will prioritize advancing EU integration talks with candidate countries.
- Zelensky urged the EU to keep its promises and move forward with Ukraine's membership without losing time.
- Ukraine hopes to open the remaining five EU accession clusters as early as July.
- Hungary has been identified as a country preventing further progress on opening accession clusters.
- Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin expressed strong support for Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Ireland on July 1 to coincide with the nation assuming its six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. During the visit, Zelensky urged the EU to accelerate Ukraine's membership process, emphasizing the need to keep promises and move forward without delay. He expressed hope that Ireland's presidency would facilitate the opening of the remaining five EU accession clusters, a process that Ukraine aims to complete as early as July.
However, progress on these clusters has been obstructed, with diplomats indicating that Hungary is preventing further advancements. European Council President Antonio Costa, also present at the ceremony, indicated a desire to open the remaining clusters as soon as possible, though a push by Hungary at a prior summit led to the removal of this phrase from joint conclusions.
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin reiterated Ireland's strong and long-standing support for Ukraine's accession to the European Union, stating that the country is determined to help Ukraine advance as far as possible on its path to membership. Zelensky highlighted that such steps strengthen the motivation of the Ukrainian people and demonstrate the EU's commitment to its promises.