Despite the excellent result, Hungary blocked fresh aid to Ukraine

The EU has agreed on the evening of 14 December to open accession negotiations with Ukraine, in a move that represents a “historical moment” for the EU and Ukraine and an incredible overturning of perspective for a country at war that didn’t expect to find a backing for its membership aspirations due to the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s firm opposition.

This is “a clear signal of hope for their people and our continent,” said the European Council President Charles Michel during the leaders’ summit in Brussels, where the decision was agreed.

The process – which also opens the door to Moldova and grants candidate status to Georgia – might take years – as the countries have to comply with a long list of objectives. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky couldn’t hide his satisfaction and defined the agreement as “a victory for Ukraine. A victory for all of Europe. […] History is made by those who don’t get tired of fighting for freedom.”

According to sources, the decision came while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was outside the room – in a move that is usually called “constructive abstention” so that the other member states could still reach unanimity, as under EU rules, abstention does not prevent a decision from being adopted.

On several occasions, Orban has been a strong opponent of accession talks with Ukraine. Soon after the decision, he published a video explaining that Hungary did not consider Ukraine eligible for membership. But the other 26 member states “insisted. [and] If the 26 decide to do it, they will have to go their own way.”

With this decision, the European Union avoided a diplomatic failure just a few hours after Putin declared that around 650,000 Russian troops were currently stationed in Ukraine. Among Putin’s messages was also the idea that Western assistance to Ukraine would soon end.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo highlighted the importance of the EU political message: “It is a very clear message to Moscow. Us Europeans, we don’t let go of Ukraine,” he said.

Despite these results, however, further aid might become an issue in the following months. Indeed, a few hours after the green light for Ukrainian accession, Hungary blocked €50 billion in EU aid for Ukraine. But EU leaders said the aid negotiations would resume early next year.