When European leaders agreed to Ukraine’s accession talks in December 2023, the historic move was hailed in Kyiv as a recognition of years of struggle to get closer to the bloc since the EuroMaidan Revolution. The agreement came after a European Commission decision in November 2023 recommending talks begin following Ukraine’s completion of four out of seven steps laid out when the country received candidate status in June 2023. Ukraine needs to enact a thorough overhaul of its legislation, policies, and economy as it heads down the long and winding road toward EU membership.
When European leaders agreed to Ukraine’s accession talks in December 2023, the historic move was hailed in Kyiv as a recognition of years of struggle to get closer to the bloc since the EuroMaidan Revolution. The agreement came after a European Commission decision in November 2023 recommending talks begin following Ukraine’s completion of four out of seven steps laid out when the country received candidate status in June 2023. Ukraine needs to enact a thorough overhaul of its legislation, policies, and economy as it heads down the long and winding road toward EU membership.
The EU Commission unlocked 10.2 billion euros ($11 billion) in frozen funds to Hungary ahead of the EU’s final summit on Dec. 14-15 where the bloc will decide on 50 billion euros in financial assistance to Ukraine and whether to open negotiations with Kyiv on EU accession. In the months leading up to the summit, Hungarian leader Viktor Orban had repeatedly threatened to block both decisions, using the blocked EU funding — which totals 30 billion euros withheld over Hungary’s democratic backsliding in recent years — as leverage in the upcoming votes on support for Ukraine.