European leaders have decided to open EU membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova and to grant candidate status to Georgia.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the decision, made at a summit in Brussels, as “a victory” for his country and Europe.
A spokesperson for Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, said that agreement was unanimous.
Hungary has long opposed talks starting with Kyiv, but did not veto the move.
However, Prime Minister Viktor Orban posted a blunt message on Facebook: “EU membership of Ukraine is a bad decision. Hungary does not want to participate in this bad decision, and therefore stayed away from the decision today.”
Mr Zelensky was delighted by the EU’s announcement: “This is a victory for Ukraine. A victory for all of Europe. A victory that motivates, inspires and strengthens,” he said on X.
Ukraine and Moldova applied to join the EU after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. They were both given candidate status last June, while Georgia was passed over at the time.
