On Thursday, following the abstention of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who had threatened to veto the decision, EU leaders decided to begin accession negotiations with Moldova and Ukraine. Orban and others contend that before to entering the bloc, Kiev needs to address widespread corruption.
Following eight hours of deliberation in a European Council session in Brussels, the decision was made public. The move was praised as “a very powerful political signal” by Council President Charles Michel and as “a strategic decision and a day that will remain engraved in the history of our union” by President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission.
Ukraine was awarded candidate status for EU membership in June of last year, following its February application. Nonetheless, considering that many Balkan candidate nations had been anticipating this moment for nearly a decade, the choice to begin accession negotiations less than 18 months later was contentious.
Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, was among the most vocal opponents of opening accession negotiations with Ukraine. Last week, Orban declared that the bloc would fail if it admitted Ukraine, referring to it as “one of the most corrupt countries in the world.” Zoltan Kovacs, Orban’s spokesperson, said earlier this month that any discussion of membership should be immediately barred due to Ukraine’s complete reliance on foreign aid and its engagement in an ongoing conflict.
Orban did not take part in the vote on Thursday, though, thus the remaining 26 EU members were able to decide on the discussions in unanimity. A day after the European Commission restored billions of euros in funds for Hungary, which it had frozen in December, Orban decided not to veto the decision, citing Budapest’s noncompliance with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights on matters such as asylum, academic freedom, and LGBTQ rights.
After the vote, Orban declared, “It is a completely senseless, irrational, and incorrect decision to start negotiations with Ukraine under these circumstances.” However, 26 additional nations urged that this choice be made. The 26 should follow their own path if that is their decision. Hungary does not wish to take part in this misguided choice.
Slovakia and Austria, although not opposing the decision made on Thursday, were also against Ukraine’s membership being expedited. Speaking on Wednesday in Bratislava, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico issued a warning that Ukraine is “absolutely unprepared to open the negotiations” and will find it difficult to meet the bloc’s requirements for membership, even in light of the “political decision” of the European Council.
