Europe Leaders Open EU Membership Talks With Ukraine
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
KYIV/BRUSSELS (Worthy News) – European leaders have decided to open European Union membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova and to grant candidate status to Georgia.
It came after Hungary opposed but did not veto Ukraine’s efforts to join the prosperous 27-nation bloc.
Hungary had been widely expected to veto the war-torn country’s entry amid a broader standoff with Brussels, which has been withholding billions in EU funding to the country over Hungary’s rule-of-law situation.
Initially, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, in the morning, doubled down on his position opposing opening accession negotiations with Kyiv.
Yet after hours of talks, Orbán walked out the room as leaders formally made the decision to open accession talks – thus getting unanimity.
The Hungarian prime minister said, “Hungary does not want to share in this bad decision, and for this reason, Hungary did not participate in the decision today.” Orbán, seen as one of the most pro-Russia leaders, demands more rights for the ethnic Hungarian minority in Ukraine and progress in fighting corruption.
Asked about Orbán’s comments following the decision, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said, “or, if you’re part of a decision, you agree with the decision, or afterward, you just have to keep your mouth shut.”
NO VETO
It wasn’t immediately clear why Orbán had not vetoed the plans.
However, some indications of using Ukraine as a bargaining chip could have irritated EU leaders, further undermining Hungary’s efforts to receive billions in aid.
French president Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and senior EU officials met with Orbán ahead of the summit in a bid to bring him on board.
Without Hungary vetoing the process, the EU’s European Council decided to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.
Addressing the EU leaders via videoconference, Volodymyr Zelensky has asked heads of state and government not to “betray” faith in Europe.
He later said the decision to welcome his counter “is a victory for Ukraine. A victory for all of Europe. A victory that motivates, inspires, and strengthens.”
European Council president Charles Michel called the leaders’ decision to open accession talks a “very powerful political signal.”
NEW PAGE
Maia Sandu, Moldova’s president, said her country “turns a new page today.”
The European Council also decided to grant the status of the candidate country to Georgia on condition that the relevant steps set out in a Commission recommendation are taken.
The European Council also said the bloc will open accession negotiations with Bosnia-Herzegovina once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is achieved.
Leaders also discussed proposed changes to the bloc’s long-term budget, including a new multi-billion euro financial package for Ukraine, which still faces an ongoing Russian invasion.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed or injured since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.
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