European Council President Charles Michel announced on Thursday an agreement in the European Union to open negotiations with Kiev on Ukraine’s accession.
“We want to support Ukraine. It is a very important political signal. It is a very strong political decision. And tonight I am thinking about the people of Ukraine. We are on their side, with this decision adopted by the Member States. And this is very important for the credibility of the European Union,” the President of the European Council said in an informal statement to journalists in Brussels.
The unexpected decision marked a reversal of what had been previously announced by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who arrived at the summit to express the impossibility of such a decision as Ukraine “does not meet the conditions”.
Viktor Orbán immediately considered that opening negotiations on Ukraine’s accession is a bad decision and emphasized in a short written note that he did not participate in the decision. The Hungarian Prime Minister was absent from the room when Charles Michel opened the vote on the vote file.
“We have worked hard in preparing this European Council, not a single Member State has opposed the decision,” he stated and “that is why” he was “able to make this announcement.”
Charles Michel’s spokeswoman, Katharina Pauli, clarified that when the file was put to the vote, “no member objected or imposed any conditions”.
The European Union is now seeking an agreement on a €50 billion package to provide Ukraine with financial stability. “We continue to work on the multiannual financial framework, which is a difficult debate,” he stated, saying he was “confident that in the coming hours we will be able to take a decision in unity on this issue , to support Ukraine with small financial support”.
Charles Michel said in an informal statement in the European Council press room that the next step is to conclude an agreement for financial assistance to Ukraine, but said he was in a position to announce that the European Union is giving the green light to the opening of formal negotiations on Ukraine’s accession.
The European Union also gave the green light to open negotiations with Moldova and granted Georgia candidate status.
“The EU will open negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina once the necessary level of compliance with the accession criteria has been achieved and has requested the Commission to submit a report by March with a view to taking such a decision,” the President announced . of the European Council in a short public note.
Source: DN
