European leaders agree to open membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova

European leaders have agreed to open EU membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova while granting candidate status to Georgia.

The decision was taken at a European Council summit in Brussels.

In a tweet, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked all those who worked for this to happen. “History is made by those who don’t get tired of fighting for freedom,” he said.

The agreement comes despite resistance from Hungary, with its prime minister Viktor Orbán insisting on Thursday that Ukraine was not ready to begin membership talks.

There is also a window of hope for Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to European Council president Charles Michel, the EU will open negotiations with the country “once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is reached”.

The Council’s decision to open membership talks comes after the European Commission advised so in November.

Ukraine had applied for membership in February 2022, days after Russia launched an invasion against it. It was granted candidate status in June that same year.