The European Union has decided to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, Charles Michel, President of the European Council, announced Thursday in Brussels on the first day of a summit of the leaders of the 27. clear signal of hope for the citizens of these countries and for our continent,” he added on X (formerly Twitter). “This is a victory for Ukraine. For Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, it is “a victory for all of Europe, a victory that motivates, inspires and makes us stronger,” he reacted on X (ex-Twitter), congratulating “every Ukrainian.” “History is written by those who never tire of fighting for freedom,” he added.
“A historic day”
kyiv was waiting for a green light from European leaders, which seemed out of reach due to the stubborn refusal of Viktor Orban’s Hungary. But the President of the European Council Charles finally announced the positive decision of the European Union on Thursday evening. The European Commission recommended in November the opening of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine, as with Moldova, two countries which obtained EU candidate status in June 2022, a few months after the outbreak of war by Moscow.
The Ukrainian political class welcomed the EU agreement, with the head of diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba calling it “a historic day”. “One emotion dominates: all this was not in vain,” he added, rejoicing at this new beginning. Prime Minister Denis Chmygal saw this as a “recognition of the reforms” undertaken in recent years, warning however that the road to accession would be “difficult”.
For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed a “logical, fair and necessary response”.
Abstention by Viktor Orban’s Hungary
The Hungarian Prime Minister abstained on Thursday from the vote of European Union leaders in favor of opening accession negotiations with Ukraine, criticizing “a bad decision”. “Hungary does not want to share responsibility” for this “senseless” choice of the 26 other countries and “has therefore abstained,” declared Viktor Orban in a video published on Facebook. “Ukraine is not ready,” repeated the nationalist leader.
“Enlargement is a legally detailed and merit-based process. We have set seven conditions and according to the Commission’s own assessment, three out of seven of them are not met,” he told his arrival at the summit in Brussels. “So we are not in a position to start negotiating.” Inflexible on the issue, he had threatened to veto, even though the unanimity of the Twenty-Seven is required on enlargement issues. But he eventually backed down.
Viktor Orban also expressed his refusal of new financial aid to Ukraine of 50 billion euros, in the form of grants and loans, for 2024-2027. “If you want money in the long term, a large sum of money, it must be done outside the common budget,” he said.