President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Viktor Kovalchuk | Getty Photos
Ukraine has moved one step nearer to European Union membership after leaders in Brussels agreed to open negotiations with the war-torn nation.
In a shock announcement late Thursday, EU summit chair Charles Michel, who’s the European Council president, stated leaders had determined to begin accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova.
“The European Council has decided to open accession negotiations with Ukraine & Moldova,” he stated by way of X, previously Twitter.
“#EUCO granted candidate status to Georgia. And the EU will open negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is reached and has invited the commission to report by March with a view to taking such a decision,” he added.
“A clear signal of hope for their people and for our continent.”
The settlement comes regardless of Hungary pledging to dam this determination in the course of the present two-day EU summit. A handful of different member states, akin to Italy, have additionally raised points over enlarging the EU.
Talking by way of X, Zelenskyy replied to Michel saying it was “a victory” for his nation and Europe. “A victory that motivates, inspires, and strengthens,” he stated, in keeping with a Reuters translation.
Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orban, in the meantime, referred to as it a nasty determination and said via Facebook that his nation didn’t take part within the decision-making course of. Orban left the room when the vote amongst EU leaders began on Thursday night, in keeping with one EU official.
— CNBC’s Silvia Amaro contributed to this text.
