EU agrees to open accession talks with Ukraine, Moldova

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM | THE INDEPENDENT | European Union (EU) leaders agreed on Thursday to open EU 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, said.

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. ■