EU to open membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova

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, reports BBC.

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.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban left the room momentarily in what officials described as a pre-agreed and constructive manner, while the other 26 leaders went ahead with the vote.

He then distanced himself from his colleagues with a video 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."

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.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu said it was an honour to share the path to EU accession with Ukraine. "We wouldn't be here today without Ukraine's brave resistance against Russia's brutal invasion," she wrote.

Earlier this year, Moldova warned that Russia was seeking to seize power in Chisinau. Sandu said Moldovans were now feeling Europe's "warm embrace" and congratulated her compatriots on what she called "an award for all of society, all those who choose democracy and prosperity".

/MHK/