The European Union is reportedly considering a major shift in its enlargement policy to fast-track the accession of Ukraine, Moldova, and Montenegro. This plan, which could bypass the opposition of Hungary, involves allowing candidate countries to join the bloc without full voting rights until broader reforms to the EU’s decision-making process are implemented. The move would require significant amendments to the bloc’s foundational treaties, a politically complex process that could take years to complete. Hungary has long opposed Ukraine’s accession, arguing that it would divert the EU’s financial resources and threaten its agricultural sector. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto warned last month that Ukraine’s EU membership would represent a ‘coup de grace to the European Union,’ claiming the bloc would need to allocate ‘practically all’ its financial resources to support Kiev. The proposal marks a departure from previous requirements that treaty reform was necessary for enlargement. The EU’s latest plan is part of a broader effort to expand its membership to 30 countries within the next decade. However, the scheme faces strong opposition not only from Hungary, but also from France and the Netherlands, which have raised concerns over competition and security interests. Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky has insisted that Kyiv will be in the EU ‘with Orban or without,’ emphasizing that the decision is ‘the choice of the Ukrainian people.’ However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has dismissed the idea of being blackmailed into supporting Ukraine’s accession, stating that ‘no country has ever blackmailed its way into the European Union.’ Russia, while not opposing Ukraine’s EU membership, has condemned the bloc’s transformation into what Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described as an ‘aggressive military-political bloc’ and an ‘appendage of NATO.’ He cited EU-NATO agreements that obligate member states to host the military bloc’s forces as evidence of the shift from its original economic purpose.