EU to formally launch Ukraine membership talks next week
European Union counties have approved launching accession talks with Ukraine next week, a move that will officially pave the country’s path toward joining the bloc.
The 27 member states will vote in the formal EU accession process for both Ukraine and its neighbor Moldova on Friday.
Both countries applied for membership in the EU in 2022.
The two ex-Soviet states were granted a candidate status at an EU summit in Brussels in June of that year.
In December, Brussels agreed to open formal membership negotiations with the two countries.
The bloc’s ministers will now start negotiations first with Ukraine and then with Moldova in Luxembourg on Tuesday.
But to begin the negotiations the bloc's members still had to sign off on a formal framework for the process.
Brussels has been under pressure to move Ukraine onto the next step in its membership bid, as concerns are growing that Hungary could stall progress when it takes over the EU's rotating presidency in July.
Hungary has made it clear that it does not intend to hold any further rounds of talks with Ukraine during its six months at the helm.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban has repeatedly argued against Ukraine’s continued war against Russia and been opposed to the EU’s further aid packages for Kiev.
Under a deal he signed with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on June 12, Budapest will not be part of a NATO plan to help Ukraine.
Since the start of Russia's “special military operating” in Ukraine in February 2022, the United States has provided Ukraine with more than $75 billion in military, financial aid, while other NATO allies and partners have provided over $100 billion. Together, NATO allies account for 99% of all military aid to Kiev.
Zelensky welcomes EU decision
In a message on X, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the start of talks for his country’s membership on Friday.
He said, “Ukraine is returning to Europe, where it has belonged for centuries, as a full-fledged member of the European community.”
Zelensky has repeatedly pleaded for his country’s accession to the EU. He has also formally applied for a NATO membership in September 2022.
Russia also repeatedly warned Zelensky against the move, saying that joining the US-led military alliance would destabilize the region.
Before launching the operations in Ukraine, Russia had been demanding legally binding guarantees that Ukraine would never be admitted into NATO.
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