European Union leaders agreed to start membership talks with Ukraine despite the ongoing war on its territory, but failed to agree on a 50 billion euro financial aid package for Kyiv due to Hungary’s opposition.
At the Brussels summit, representatives of other countries bypassed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s objections, asking him to leave the room as they took the historic step of agreeing to start EU accession talks with a country at war.
However, they were unable to overcome Orbán ‘s opposition to revising the bloc’s budget to channel financial support to Ukraine and provide more money for other EU priorities, such as changing migration policy.
They ended talks on Friday on a financial package requiring unanimity among the EU’s 27 leaders and said they would resume talks in January, with some expressing optimism that a deal could be reached even then.
Leaders from 26 of the 27 EU member states were satisfied with the compromise budget proposal put forward by summit chairman Charles Michel. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters on leaving the talks:
“We still have some time, Ukraine is not out of money in the next few weeks. I am fairly confident we can get a deal early next year, we are thinking of late January.”
In Viktor Orbán’s opinion, the EU should not allocate such large sums from its budget for Ukraine because it is not part of the bloc. Other leaders assured Kyiv that they would send aid to Ukraine outside the EU budget if Budapest does not change its mind.
While EU membership is likely years away, the decision made at the Brussels summit brings Ukraine one step closer to its long-term strategic goal of gaining a foothold in the West.
The decision came at a critical time for Ukraine, with its counter-offensive making little headway and US President Joe Biden still unable to pass a US$60 billion (RM280 billion) aid package to Kyiv through the US Congress. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared:
“This is a victory for Ukraine. A victory for all of Europe. A victory that motivates, inspires, and strengthens. I congratulate every Ukrainian on this day … History is made by those who don’t get tired of fighting for freedom.”
Some diplomats and EU officials believe German Chancellor Olaf Scholz played a key role in getting Orbán to leave the room and make room for the decision. Scholz said the decision was a “strong sign of support” for Ukraine.
The leaders also agreed on EU accession talks with another former Soviet republic, Moldova, and on granting Georgia candidate status. Scholz wrote on X:
“It is clear that these countries belong to the European family.”
EU leaders have said they will begin membership talks with Bosnia as soon as it undertakes certain political reforms.
