President of the European Council Charles Michel called the decision on Ukraine a very powerful signal and added that the EU will start negotiations and publish a report in March, UNN reports with reference to The Guardian.
"We will start negotiations and a report will be published in March, and on the basis of that we will make a decision in March," said European Council President Charles Michel, speaking to journalists.
"This is extremely important, we want to support Ukraine. This is a very powerful political signal, this is a very powerful political decision, and today and tonight I think to the people of Ukraine - we are on their side, and this decision taken by the member states is extremely important for the European Union," Michel said."
Asked how the decision was made, given Orban's threat to veto the talks, he referred to the rules of the European Council, which require unanimity for such decisions.
"We worked hard to protect the European Council. It was important that no member state opposed this decision, and that is why we were able to make this announcement ..." the head of the European Council summarized.
What you need to know
In March 2024, the European Commission is to publish a report on Ukraine's progress in a number of indicators. If the assessment is positive, the EU will have to adopt a negotiating framework that will launch substantive negotiations.
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To recap
The EU starts accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova, grants candidate status to Georgia and starts talks with Bosnia as soon as the relevant criteria are met.