On December 14, despite Hungary's objections, leaders of European Union (EU) member states agreed to open negotiations on admitting Ukraine and Moldova into the union.
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| Ukraine takes another step towards joining the EU as the bloc decides to open accession talks. (Source: Getty Images) |
In the announcement, EU Council President Charles Michel stated that the EU will also grant candidate status to Georgia and open negotiations with Bosnia-Herzegovina when the country meets the necessary criteria for membership.
European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed this strategic decision, while French President Emmanuel Macron assessed it as a "reasonable, fair and necessary response".
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the decision would be a “strong sign of support” for Kiev, expressing his belief that both Ukraine and Moldova “will belong to the common European home.”
Besides, the leader said there could be no major spending in the EU budget, but the bloc still had to send a signal of support for Ukraine.
On the Ukrainian side, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba assessed this as "a historic day", while Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal considered the decision as "recognition of the reforms" that Ukraine has carried out in recent years, but warned that the path to joining would be "difficult".
The EU's move came a day after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced that Budapest would stick to its stance that the bloc should not start membership negotiations with Ukraine.
Mr Orban has vowed to block Ukraine's efforts to start accession talks with the EU, threatening to veto proposals that would allow Kiev to start talks to join the bloc and receive significant financial and military aid.
After the EU decided to open negotiations, on social network X (formerly Twitter), the head of the Hungarian government announced that he had abstained from voting.
Ukraine is aspiring to join the EU as the Eastern European country seeks to break ties with Russia and build alliances with the West.
Ukraine and Moldova applied for EU membership in February and March 2022 respectively and were granted candidate status in June this year.
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