The European Council decided to start negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the European Union. European Council President Charles Michel (centre) said: "This is a clear signal of hope for our people and the continent. (Reuters).
The European Council's decision to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union comes as Kyiv comes as U.S. military aid to Ukraine becomes more uncertain.
Reuters reported that European Council President Charles Michel announced the decision on the X social media platform on Thursday (December 14), and the EU leaders' summit opened in Brussels on the same day.
According to local ** reports, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban voted "absent" that day, which allowed the decision to pass. Orban said ahead of the summit that it was too early to start accession talks with Ukraine.
On December 14, local time, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that it was a wrong decision to open negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union, and Hungary did not want to participate in this wrong decision.
On the sidelines of the EU summit, Orban said in a social media post that Hungary is clear that Ukraine is not ready, and in this case, opening accession talks is a "completely meaningless, irrational and wrong decision".
Orban said that since the other 26 EU member states insisted on making this decision, the Hungarian side believed that they could go their own way, but "Hungary did not want to participate in this wrong decision, which is why Hungary did not make this decision today".
Irish Prime Minister Varadkar told reporters that Orban strongly opposed the matter, but decided not to exercise veto power over the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession.
At the same time, the European Council decided to start accession talks for Moldova, Michel said. In addition, the EU decided to grant Georgia the status of an EU candidate country and to start accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina "after meeting the necessary accession criteria".
Ukraine** Zelensky cheered on the X social media platform, this is a "victory" for Ukraine and the European continent. Michel's decision, announced on the first day of the summit in Brussels, is a much-needed morale boost for Kyiv, which fears a protracted war with Russia and waning Western support for Ukraine.
"I would like to thank everyone who worked tirelessly and helped to achieve this goal," Zelenskyy said in X. I congratulate every Ukrainian today ......
According to AFP, the White House called the European Union's green light to Ukraine's accession a historic day.
"We welcome the EU's historic decision to open accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova as a critical step towards achieving the EU's Euro-Atlantic vision," White House adviser Jake Sullivan said in X. ”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also posted that Ukraine and Moldova are "clearly part of the European family."
Belgian Prime Minister De Croo said that the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union was a "very clear signal" to Ukraine and Russia.
Ukraine submitted its application to join the European Union in February 2022, and Moldova also submitted its application to join the European Union in March of the same year. In June 2022, the two countries became candidates for the European Union. In November, the European Commission recommended the start of accession talks between Ukraine and Moldova.
*: CCTV News, Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao