Brussels, December 16 (Xinhua) -- The two-day EU summit ended in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, on December 15. The summit mainly focused on EU enlargement, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the most important "outcome" was the decision to start negotiations between Ukraine and Moldova to join the EU.
Analysts note that the decision is "extremely symbolic", but it does not mean that Ukraine's accession to the EU will be smooth. At the same time, it is still difficult for EU member states to agree on the issue of aid to Ukraine and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which will further dim Ukraine's prospects of victory in the conflict, and will continue to tear apart the EU's internal unity and erode its international influence.
Negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union have begun, but they are not a smooth road.
On the evening of the 14th, European Council President Charles Michel announced that the European Council decided to start negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the European Union. Previously, the leaders of the 27 member states of the European Union had been struggling to agree on Ukraine's accession because Hungary firmly opposed the start of Ukraine's accession talks. However, in a vote after "heated discussions" on the 14th, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban left the room to vote absenteely, thus allowing the decision to pass.
On December 14, in Brussels, Belgium, European Council President Charles Michel attended the EU summit. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhao Dingzhe.
Ukraine and Moldova submitted their applications to join the EU in February and March 2022, respectively. In June of that year, the two countries became candidates for the European Union. In November this year, the European Commission gave the two countries the green light to propose to the Council of the European Union to start accession talks when they had not yet fully met the requirements of a series of EU reform proposals. This practice has caused dissatisfaction among some EU member states.
After the European Union made the decision to start Ukraine's accession negotiations on the 14th, Orban told his country** that Hungary did not want to participate in this "wrong decision", which is why he left the room when the leaders of the other 26 countries made the decision. "This is a completely illogical, unreasonable and incorrect decision," he insisted.
Ukraine**Zelensky posted on social media**, expressing his gratitude to the European Council for its decision to start negotiations between Ukraine and Moldova on accession. For his part, Russia's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said it was "a politicized decision" that could destabilize the European Union.
Analysts pointed out that the decision to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU at the summit was more to show Russia and the outside world the EU's determination to support Ukraine, and the symbolic significance was greater than the practical significance. For Ukraine, there is still a long way to go from the start of negotiations to its eventual membership of the European Union.
Aid to Ukraine has not been unanimously agreed.
Before the summit, Michel stressed the importance of providing 50 billion euros in aid to Ukraine in an invitation letter to EU member states, but the summit failed to agree on this aid plan due to Hungary's veto. Michel said on the 15th that the topic will be postponed until January next year to reopen, and hopes to get the unanimous agreement of member states at that time.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (left) arrives at the EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, on December 14. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhao Dingzhe.
In an interview with Hungary on the 15th, Orban said that more money should not be given to Ukraine, but the conflict should be ended. Dai Ak Daniel, a researcher at the Hungarian Institute for the 21st Century Studies, believes that Hungary is "not alone" on the Ukraine issue, and several major EU member states agree with Orban's position on Ukraine, but "they dare not express their position publicly due to pressure from the United States and **."
Analysts pointed out that Hungary's veto highlights the huge differences in the EU on the issue of aid to Ukraine. At present, Ukraine is in a stalemate on the battlefield between Russia and Ukraine, and it is also in a difficult situation in obtaining US aid, and the EU has failed to deal further blows to it through the aid plan.
In this regard, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the voice within the EU that "it's time to cut aid to Ukraine" is not just talk, because both Europe and the United States have struggled to find additional funds to continue to support the Zelensky regime, which does not meet Western expectations.
Failure to jointly support a ceasefire in Gaza.
EU member states have also failed to agree on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip over the intensifying Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The communiqué of the summit made only a brief mention of this: "The European Council has held an in-depth strategic debate on the Middle East. ”
On the eve of the summit, the leaders of Ireland, Spain, Belgium and Malta sent a letter to Michel demanding a "serious debate" on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the "ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza." "We must urgently appeal to all parties to declare a lasting humanitarian ceasefire to end hostilities," the four leaders said in the letter. ”
On December 14, in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, people rescue people on the rubble of buildings following Israeli air strikes. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Yasser Cudi).
The 27 member states of the European Union have long been divided on the Palestinian-Israeli issue. According to the Associated Press, Austria and Germany are supporters of Israel, while Spain and Ireland are more concerned about the plight of the Palestinian people.
At the EU summit at the end of October, EU leaders called only for the opening of humanitarian corridors in the Gaza Strip and a humanitarian "temporary ceasefire". However, judging from the results of the recent UN vote on the Palestinian-Israeli issue, more and more EU member states have supported a humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Irish Prime Minister Varadkar said on the 14th that because the EU is considered to pursue double standards in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, it has lost credibility in the "Global South", which represents most of the world, and he hopes that the summit can have "stronger language" on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. However, his hopes were ultimately disappointed.
In this regard, Varadka said after the summit that the current EU member states supporting a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip have a "very clear majority", but it has not yet reached the level of "unanimous agreement". (Participating reporter: Chen Hao).