EU leaders open negotiations on Ukraine and Moldova’s accession

The EU leaders decided to start the process of negotiations on Ukraine and Moldova's accession to the bloc, Charles Michel reported.

The head of the EU Council also said that Georgia had been granted candidate status.

The EU will start negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina when the required level of compliance with the membership criteria is reached.

Michel invited the Commission to report back by March in order to make such a decision.

Zelensky reacted to the European Council's decision to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU.

"A victory for Ukraine. The victory of the whole Europe. A victory that motivates, inspires and strengthens," Zelensky said.

The decision of the EU leaders means that the European Commission begins to prepare the technical aspects of the membership negotiations with Ukraine (the so-called negotiating framework) without further delay.

The framework may be approved at the next EU summit in the spring of 2024 if it is recognized that Ukraine has fulfilled all the preliminary criteria of the European Commission.

It will discuss several issues related to Ukraine. In particular 50 billion euros of economic support for Kyiv, 20 billion euros for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and start negotiations on the country's accession to the bloc.

But to do so, they will have to convince Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who threatens to veto these proposals.

In the morning before the EU summit, which will consider the official start of negotiations with Ukraine, the heads of France, Germany, and the European Council met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Zelensky did not attend the EU leaders' summit, but is known to have addressed the EU online.