Brussels, Dec 15: European Union (EU) leaders have agreed to open the accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova and to grant candidate status to Georgia.
The EU will also open negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is reached, Charles Michel, President of the European Council, was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. Ukraine got a green light Thursday to start sped-up talks on joining the European Union. That’s a big boost for war-ravaged Ukraine and a loud message to Vladimir Putin – but it could be years before the country actually becomes a member of the European Union.
The European Union was born after World War II as a trading bloc with a bold ambition: to prevent another war between Germany and France. The six founding members were Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Since then, the EU has steadily expanded to contain 27 democratic nations, many from the former communist bloc in Eastern Europe, inspired by the idea that economic and political integration among nations is the best way to promote prosperity and peace.
Ukraine is one of several countries that have long wanted to join the EU, seeing it as a path to wealth and stability. While the EU is not a military alliance like NATO, membership in the bloc is seen by some as a rampart against Russian influence.
Ukraine officially applied for EU accession less than a week after Russia invaded in February 2022. Its capital, Kyiv, faced the threat of capture, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government faced the threat of collapse.
The start of membership talks less than two years later is only one step in a long journey. But it sends a strong signal of solidarity with Ukraine just as U.S. support for Ukraine’s military is faltering and a Ukrainian counteroffensive is stalled – and as Putin appears increasingly emboldened. And it offers a ray of hope for Ukraine even as EU members failed Thursday to agree on a more immediate boost in the form of 50 billion euros ($55 billion) in aid to keep the Ukrainian economy afloat.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban expressed his dissent, writing on social media platform X that “Starting accession negotiations with Ukraine is a bad decision. Hungary did not participate in the decision.
“Ukraine and Moldova submitted their applications to become member states of the EU in February and March 2022, respectively, and were granted candidate status in June this year. (Agencies)
