The EU agrees to open Ukraine membership talks in a shock win for Kyiv.

While Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia’s invasion has failed to make significant advances and the United States’ military assistance has grown more dubious, the leaders of the European Union awarded Ukraine a significant political victory on Thursday by agreeing to begin membership discussions. This comes at a time when Ukraine’s situation has become more precarious.

At the same time that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who had for weeks stated that he would oppose such a deal, decided to leave the meeting, EU diplomats and officials indicated that the surprise green light for discussions took place. Orban was aware that the other leaders would go ahead and vote.

Orban has acknowledged that he did not participate in the voting about what he referred to as a “bad decision” that took place during the summit of the European Union. The specifics of what he may be receiving in exchange were not entirely apparent at this point.

A decision approved in such an unorthodox manner, especially one of such a significant kind, is unheard of in Brussels. This is true even for a city where diplomats have been quite imaginative regarding how to reach decisions and agreements for a long time.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the President of Ukraine, expressed his approval of the decision.

“The Ukrainian people have won this battle. A triumph for the entirety of Europe. He described it as “a victory that motivates, inspires, and strengthens both parties.”

On this day, I would like to congratulate every Ukrainian. Those individuals who never give up on their quest for freedom are the ones who will make history.

Ukraine is in desperate need of assistance from its Western friends in its struggle against Russian soldiers, which has been going on for almost two years. The counteroffensive that it has launched has not been successful in making significant advances, and the administration of Vice President Joe Biden has not been able to convince the United States Congress to approve a $60 billion assistance plan for Ukraine.

Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, described the event as “a strategic decision and a day that will remain engraved in the history of our Union.”

There were a lot of different adjectives that Orban used to characterize the decision.

In his statement, he stated that Hungary’s position is unambiguous and that Ukraine is not prepared for us to begin discussions on EU membership. He also referred to the decision to begin discussions as “irrational” and “inappropriate.”

“But 26 member states were adamant that this decision must be made so Hungary decided that if 26 decide so, they should go on their own path and Hungary does not wish to participate in this bad decision,” stated the president.

TALKS TO TAKE YEARS TO COMPLETE
It is conceivable that the discussions themselves will take several years.

Considering that Ukraine has a population of 44 million people and is physically more significant than any other member of the European Union, being a member of the 27-member bloc offers some challenging hurdles.

The request that Orban leave the room for the decision to be accepted was reportedly made by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, according to several diplomats.

Prime Minister Orban compellingly presented his argument. According to statements made to reporters by Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, “He not only disagrees with this decision and he is not changing his opinion, but he has essentially decided not to use the veto power.”

Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron met with Orban before the meeting, together with von der Leyen and Charles Michel, the President of the European Council. Additionally, Scholz and Macron engaged in heavy diplomacy about the topic.

The European Commission reinstated Hungary’s access to up to 10.2 billion euros in reimbursements for economic projects on Wednesday. The Commission came to this conclusion after determining that Hungary had satisfied the standards regarding the independence of its judiciary.

Conversations about the framework for the bloc’s multi-annual budget will continue throughout the summit.

Michel said that the European Council had also decided on Thursday to initiate discussions with Moldova over their membership.

He suggested that the summit will also pursue an EU application by another prospect, Bosnia, after it obtains “the necessary degree of compliance” with requirements. Meanwhile, he stated that the meeting would offer candidate status to Georgia as a member of the European Union.

At the beginning of the day, when the 27 leaders of the European Union were meeting for their final summit of the year, Orban urged that the European Union should not begin membership discussions with Ukraine. He was the only person who refused to give in at his peak.

The other leaders of the European Union had cautioned that if they had not agreed to begin discussions, it would have been interpreted as a triumph for Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia.

Alexander De Croo, the Prime Minister of Belgium, stated that the decision to begin the membership discussions was a message to Kyiv just as much as it was to Moscow.