The European Union has decided to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on Thursday. In the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a decision in this regard will be made once the necessary requirements are met.
Provided certain reform steps are taken, they say that accession talks should also be opened with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Georgia should be granted candidate status.
Through a statement, the European Parliament welcomed the interest as well as political will from a large number of countries to become part of the European Union while acknowledging the efforts made to meet the needed requirements.
According to the Parliament, the EU should establish a clear deadline for the candidate countries in order to conclude EU accession negotiations by the end of this decade.
There should be no fast-track for membership, though, they say. MEPs insist that the Copenhagen criteria must be fulfilled to ensure that candidate and potential candidate countries demonstrate a consistent and enduring commitment to democracy, rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities, and economic reforms.
The European Commission recommended opening EU membership negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova in November this year while emphasising that they met all the needed requirements for this process to be finished.
The accession of Ukraine to the bloc has been opposed by Hungary. Besides, last month, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, said that Kyiv’s accession to the European Union would bring the war to the block.
According to a report from the European Western Balkans, the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, had been threatening to veto the decision regarding the accession of Ukraine to the bloc until the last moment.
The same source shows that he left the meeting when the vote on the decision to open accession talks with Kyiv was supposed to take place, thus facilitating a unanimous decision by the European Council.
In a video posted on X soon after the decision, Orbán once again reiterated his stance against it but acknowledged abstaining. Later revelations indicated that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz recommended the Hungarian premier to leave the room.
Hungary’s position is clear: Ukraine is not prepared to start negotiations on EU membership. It is a completely senseless, irrational and incorrect decision to start negotiations with Ukraine under these circumstances, and Hungary will not change its position.
The European Council’s decision has been welcomed by the United States, considering it a powerful affirmation of the EU candidates’ and prospective candidates’ European future.
