Shay Brennan warns Hungary is stifling Ukraine's EU accession
Shay Brennan updated on Ukraine's EU accession process, saying Ukraine has implemented significant reforms and screening was reportedly completed in September 2025. He criticised Hungary's opposition to formally opening the first chapter and outlined Ireland's support in personnel, funding and training.
Accession progress
Shay Brennan said Ukraine applied for EU membership in February 2022, was granted candidate status soon after, and has made significant progress under the accession framework. He said the Commission and the EU Council have acknowledged Ukraine's reform efforts and that parallel negotiations continue to approximate EU standards across chapters.
Member-state opposition and political obstacles
Shay Brennan criticised Hungary for continuing to oppose the formal opening of the first chapter, calling that stance regrettable and damaging to the process. He said Hungary's position is undermining enlargement though efforts are ongoing to work with Hungary and other member states, and he noted a recent discussion on Ukraine membership with the President of the Council, Antonia Costa.
Ireland's practical support for Ukraine
Shay Brennan outlined Ireland's contribution, saying Ireland has offered experienced personnel, humanitarian funding and capacity-building support. He said Ireland also assists through training public servants, using the IPA and ensuring Ukraine's accession remains on EU agendas.
Geopolitical and regional implications
Shay Brennan described the accession as a geopolitical imperative - it "has to happen" - and argued that renewed enlargement momentum benefits wider EU policy. He said progress on Ukraine has helped put enlargement back on the EU table after a long period of dormancy and has implications for the Western Balkans and other candidate states.
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Good, Ken Corley. Tishek, Ukraine applied for EU membership in February 2022 and was granted candidate status not long after that. Since then, significant progress has been made with the screening process reportedly completed in September 2025. I wonder if you could update us on the current status of Ukraine's accession talks and, if available, progress on any required reforms and the key milestones that remain. Also, how precisely is Ireland supporting Ukraine's accelerated integration into the Union, especially given ongoing political challenges from some member states? And finally, could you outline Ireland's diplomatic efforts to help build consensus among EU partners for Ukraine's full and timely accession? First of all, I'd say that in terms of Deputy Shae Brennan's questions, and he has raised the key issues of Ukraine's accession process. Now, Ukraine have responded very well to the framework that governs accession. Basically, it has reformed, it has carried out a lot of reforms, which the Commission has acknowledged to the membership of the EU Council and have said that Ukraine had been extremely positive in terms of meeting the various standards. One of the big issues we have is Hungary continues to oppose the opening of the first, the formal opening of the first chapter, even though we would argue that the European Council had agreed agreed to the accession process earlier in an earlier vote over a year ago. But meanwhile, parallel to that, there's a kind of a parallel negotiating process in terms of approximating Ukraine to the various standards that would apply to different chapters. But it is very, very regrettable that Hungary has behaved in such a manner, which is really endeavouring to stifle and stop Ukraine from joining. But key milestones have been reached, and there's ongoing interaction between the Commission. We have offered support in terms of personnel, in terms of people who would have experienced with the European Union, formerly from Ireland, to help with Ukraine. We've offered funding in terms of on the humanitarian side and so forth. But also what we can do and we do with other accession states is in terms of training of public servants or utilising the IPA and so on. So we're very open to helping the country on progressing the reforms and understanding how the EU works. But we've been strongest in terms of, at every meeting, making sure that this is on the agenda. And in fact, going back to the last government, I would have been one of the minority at the time, in their own 21 pushing clock session. From a geopolitical perspective, I think it's a no-brainer. It has to happen. And that has helped the Western Balkans, even though the Western Balkans were worried that Ukraine would go ahead with Moldova. Now it's accepted that enlargement as an issue is backed firmly on the EU table, where it was fairly dormant for 10 years, if we're honest. And it can be a long process. And Hungary is really undermining the process. But we're working with Hungary and we're working with others. And my latest encounter with the President of the Council, Antonia Costa, was on Ukraine membership. Thank you.
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