EU pushes Ukraine membership bid forward despite Hungary's objections

The European Union on Thursday handed Ukraine a long list of reforms needed to join the bloc, determined to push the process forward despite the ongoing war and objections from EU member Hungary.

Top EU officials and diplomats meeting in Lviv, in western Ukraine, said a list of demands covering roughly half of the required reforms would allow progress while formal negotiations remain blocked by Budapest.

EU membership has become the central goal for Ukraine’s effort to anchor itself to the West as NATO prospects stall.

Here’s a look at the main challenges on Ukraine’s road to the European Union.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán insists accession talks shouldn’t proceed during wartime and has cited the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine and economic risks. Despite being at odds with all other member states, Hungary has stuck to that position and did not send a representative to Thursday’s meeting. Breaking with the broader EU consensus, Budapest has also maintained close ties with Moscow.

Marie Bjerre, Denmark’s minister for European affairs, said the EU was moving ahead anyway. “It is very clear that we are 26 member countries that see a future with Ukraine in the EU. It is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when,” she told reporters in Lviv.

Cyprus joined the EU in 2004 as a war-divided island and could offer Ukraine a blueprint for accession. The island will take over the EU’s rotating presidency from Denmark on Jan. 1 and has promised to continue work on Ukraine’s bid.

In a statement to The Associated Press, Cyprus’ deputy minister for European affairs, Marilena Raouna, praised Kyiv’s “extraordinary political will” to deliver on key reforms.

“Despite Russia’s ongoing war of aggression, the Ukrainian people continue to defend not only their sovereignty,” she said, “but also the very principles on which our union stands: democracy, freedom, human dignity and respect for fundamental rights.”

Ukraine must align its administration with a host of EU systems, practices and rules before joining the bloc, and the required reforms are divided into six “clusters.” The process is expected to take at least two years.

Detailed requirements within three of those clusters were agreed with Ukraine on Thursday, covering the rule of law and democratic institutions, the internal market and external relations.

Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Taras Kachka, acknowledged that a recent corruption scandal that rocked the government had made rule-of-law reforms a priority, adding that the pace of alignment was now up to Kyiv.

“We found a way to ensure that the enlargement process continues with the same tempo, despite the fact that we still lack formal unanimity,” he said. “We have a very clear understanding of the benchmarks, what’s on the to-do list and everything else.”

Ukraine is in the official accession queue with eight other hopefuls — Albania, Bosnia, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey — but negotiations are at different stages and not all are active.

Counting territory occupied by Russia, Ukraine would be the EU’s largest member measured by land size if it joined, overtaking France.

An agricultural powerhouse and geographically important for energy, Ukraine as an EU member would also counter Russia’s influence and extend the union’s values eastward.

Marta Kos, the EU enlargement commissioner who led Thursday’s talks, said giving Kyiv a clear road map would help accelerate change.

“Reforms are at the center of this process, and nobody can veto Ukraine from doing these reforms,” she said. “Ukraine will become a member of the EU, and nobody can block it.”

Hadjicostis reported from Nicosia, Cyprus

Marie Bjerre, Danish Minister for European Affairs attends a joint press conference with Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Taras Kachka and Marta Kos, EU Commissioner for Enlargement, after informal meeting of EU ministers for European affairs in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Taras Kachka attends a joint press conference with Marie Bjerre, Danish Minister for European Affairs and Marta Kos, EU Commissioner for Enlargement, after informal meeting of EU ministers for European affairs in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

From left: Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Taras Kachka, Marie Bjerre, Danish Minister for European Affairs and Marta Kos, EU Commissioner for Enlargement, attend a joint press conference after informal meeting of EU ministers for European affairs in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos seeks during joint press conference with Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Taras Kachka and Marie Bjerre, Danish Minister for European Affairs, after informal meeting of EU ministers for European affairs in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, right, attends a joint press conference with Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Taras Kachka, left, and Marie Bjerre, Danish Minister for European Affairs, after informal meeting of EU ministers for European affairs in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump was booed loudly by fans inside Madison Square Garden when he was shown on video screens during the national anthem prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night.

Trump was shown for several seconds giving a military salute. The boos ended when the U.S. flag followed him on the screens, and fans cheered when New York Knicks players were shown. Mentions of the San Antonio Spurs also elicited loud boos.

Trump is watching from Knicks owner James Dolan’s suite, along with granddaughter Kai, personal adviser Boris Epshteyn and Cabinet secretaries Lee Zeldin, Sean Duffy and Doug Burgum. He is the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game.

Trump’s Marine One helicopter flew from his home in New Jersey and landed near Wall Street before his motorcade made its way up through Manhattan and to the arena roughly an hour before tipoff. He encountered a handful of people making rude gestures, and outside the area, one group held signs saying “Trump must go.”

He settled into Dolan's suite shortly afterward.

During the afternoon before Trump's arrival, the New York Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service set up a large perimeter surrounding Madison Square Garden. Fans lined up to get inside the arena more than four hours before tipoff, in a scene more closely resembling New Year’s Eve in Times Square than the usual leadup to a basketball game.

They were required to provide a ticket or pass to get past various checkpoints, along with going through a Transportation Security Administration-style magnetometer. Secret Service personnel and police were positioned at every corner and in large numbers. Daily commuters, tourists visiting Manhattan and fans were all confounded at various times as they tried to maneuver the security.

After traveling from his new home in Florida for the game, Knicks fan Greg Weldon said the main inconvenience faced so far has been the lack of information.

“We’ve asked so many cops, secret service, guys with machine guns, what to do, where should we go,” he said. “Nobody knows.”

Knicks coach Mike Brown and Spurs counterpart Mitch Johnson downplayed any concept of being inconvenienced by the closures and enhanced security because of Trump.

“There’s a lot going on, and I’d much rather be a part of it than not,” Johnson said.

With security stepped up, a watch party outside was canceled, and ticket-holders were not allowed to bring bags inside the Garden. Fans had gathered near the arena to watch games during this playoff run, during which the Knicks have won 13 games in a row to reach the final for the first time since 1999 and move two victories from their first NBA title since 1973.

“We are looking forward to bringing back watch parties for Game 4,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference Monday. "But I think New Yorkers are used to presidents coming to town, and they understand that that generally means lockdowns of areas and that’s what you’re going to see tonight at the Garden.”

This is the latest major sporting event Trump has attended during his time as president, and the security measures have created major hassles for fans.

Thousands of fans missed the start of last year’s U.S. Open men’s singles final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner because of lengthy security lines. Even though the U.S. Tennis Association pushed back the start of the match by a half-hour, many fans still couldn’t get in because added measures meant that they had to go through screening not only when they arrived at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center but again in front of the steps into Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Trump watched from a suite.

Federal law enforcement officials have been reexamining Trump’s security in light of three incidents in the past two years: a shooting at a 2024 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania; the discovery of a man armed with a rifle as Trump played golf in West Palm Beach, Florida, later that year; and the recent shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

Asked Sunday his thoughts on Trump attending, Knicks center Mitchell Robinson said: “Cool, I guess. We can still get out there and play (no matter) who’s here and who’s not.”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other dignitaries were also at the game.

It was already hard enough for Knicks fans to get inside Madison Square Garden because of astronomical ticket prices. The get-in price for a ticket is higher than the average cost of monthly rent in New York, surging over $5,000. The best seats are tens of thousands of dollars. Mamdani said he bought his ticket, which he said was standing-room-only, for about $1,000 directly from Madison Square Garden.

The difficulty of seeing the game in-person has prompted fans to crowd bars, streets and watch parties all over the city. The watch party near the Garden has become a major event all through the playoffs, but with Trump attending, that event was moved a few blocks away outside the security perimeter, at Bryant Park.

“We improvise,” said Knicks guard Jose Alvarado, who is a New York native. "We're New Yorkers. We’re going to find a way to watch a game, and that’s what we’re doing.”

AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

U.S. Secret Service agents and a U.S. Marine brace against the downdraft as a support helicopter lands before Marine One with President Donald Trump aboard, at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport at Pier 6 in New York, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump gestures during the National Anthem as he attends an NBA Finals playoff basketball game between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, June 8, 2026, with Kai Trump, left. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump gestures during the National Anthem as he attends an NBA Finals playoff basketball game between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, June 8, 2026, with Kai Trump, left, Knicks owner James Dolan and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, right. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

NYPD officers escort the motorcade of President Donald Trump outside of Madison Square Garden ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Monday, June 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

New York Knicks fans wait in line to enter Madison Square Garden ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Monday, June 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

Madison Square Garden ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Monday, June 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

Secret Service agents stand guard in front of Madison Square Garden ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Monday, June 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

The motorcade of President Donald Trump arrives to Madison Square Garden ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Monday, June 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

A Secret Service agent stands watch outside Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, June 8, 2026, as President Donald Trump is set to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

Security fencing is set up outside of Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, June 8, 2026, as President Donald Trump is set to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

Security is set up outside of Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, June 8, 2026, as President Donald Trump is set to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

FILE - President Donald Trump, center, attends the men's singles final at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

A traveler tries to navigate the area as stringent security measures are set up outside of Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, June 8, 2026, as President Donald Trump is set to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

FILE - Donald Trump, right, talks to an unidentified man from the stands at Madison Square Garden during the New York Knicks game against the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 11, 2006, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

President Donald Trump speaks at Custer Farms in Chippewa Falls, Wis., Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Glen Stubbe)