Friends on Ukraine's Terms? Hungary Drops Its Veto

Hungary has dropped its two-year veto on Ukraine's European Union accession, clearing the way for the first cluster of negotiations to open in mid-June.Recorded on 6 June 2026 in Cres, Croatia, on the sidelines of the Europe's Future Initiative fellows gathering, Wojciech Przybylski talks to Balázs Jarábik about the deal that ended the deadlock between Hungary and Ukraine. Jarábik is an award-winning analyst and decorated diplomat. He is the founder of Minority Report, an independent policy consulting firm and think tank based in Bratislava, Slovakia.The conversation then opens out into three tracks. First, the question of the Hungarian minority in Zakarpattia and why it carries such weight in Hungary's foreign policy. Second, the European game of the new Magyar government. Third, and most consequential, the emergence of a more ethno-national, post-Maidan Ukraine that, in Jarábik's reading, will lead with defence integration while EU accession slows, and will use its military weight towards its neighbours.YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@visegradinsightSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7aA9iqd8rUxFMYMemjikuwApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/at/podcast/visegrad-insight-podcast/id1515725435Substack: https://visegradinsight.substack.com/podcastSubscribe to Visegrad Insight for access to all our content, live and online events: visegradinsight.eu. Use code VISEGRAD35 for 35 per cent off a yearly subscription:https://visegradinsight.eu/membership-account/membership-levels/Visegrad Insight is powered by the Res Publica Foundation, Warsaw.