The Council of the European Union failed to adopt the annual enlargement conclusions due to a veto from Hungary. Marie Bjerre, Minister of European Affairs of Denmark, the country holding the Council Presidency, stated that the draft Council conclusions were instead transformed into the Presidency conclusions with the support of the other 26 Member States.
“Today, we tried to reach Council conclusions, but, unfortunately, that was not possible. Hungary is blocking us from reaching the Council conclusions. Attempts to find the solutions have been rejected. I very much regret this, as several member states said, it sends a wrong signal to the candidate countries. We want them to choose the EU, not to choose Russia”, Bjerre said at yesterday’s press conference.
János Bóka, Hungary’s Minister for European Union Affairs, posted earlier on Facebook that the conclusions on enlargement were “unbalanced and unrealistic” and that his country would therefore veto them. He was critical of the position of other Member States on Ukraine.
In the text of the Presidency conclusions endorsed by 26 Member States, it is stated that “the Council reconfirms the geostrategic importance of enlargement as a major contribution to European peace, security, stability and prosperity in the twenty-first century”.
The document adds that “the Council urges all partners to seize the opportunity, use the current momentum and take all necessary steps to accelerate their progress on the EU path”.
“The Council reiterates that the progress of all partners who aspire to join will continue to be assessed on the basis of fair and rigorous conditionality and their own merits: a cornerstone of the accession negotiations, with rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights at its core”, the document states.
It is added that, in parallel to aspiring members stepping up their reform efforts, the EU needs to lay the necessary internal groundwork and reforms.
“Full alignment with the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) remains a key aspect of the EU integration process, and a strong expression of a partner’s strategic choice”, the document reads.
According to the the document endorsed by 26 Member States, the Council takes good note of the Commission’s Communication and reports of 4 November 2025, and welcomes in particular the significant breakthroughs and progress achieved by several candidates in 2025.
“The Council welcomes that Montenegro has advanced further in its accession negotiations and that 12 negotiating chapters have now been provisionally closed. The Council looks forward to the provisional closing of further chapters as soon as possible, when the conditions are met. On the basis of the overall progress achieved by Montenegro, the Council decides that the Ad hoc Working Party on Drafting the Accession Treaty with Montenegro will be established”, the Presidency conclusions state.
The Council also welcomed that Albania has now opened all 6 negotiating clusters and is advancing in its accession negotiations.
