The European Union is firmly aiming to expand eastwardresponding unitedly to Russian imperialism, resurrected under Vladimir Putin. The European Council, surprisingly, gave the green light late yesterday afternoon to accession talks with Ukraine and Moldovaboth former Soviet socialist republics.
Has Georgia's candidate country status was guaranteed, another former republic of the USSR, which was the birthplace of Joseph Stalin. And it looks to the start of accession negotiations with Bosnia-Herzegovina, on the basis of a Commission report expected in March 2024. The turning point came as a surprise in Brussels, in a European Council which in the preparatory briefings had invariably been described as ” difficult” and probably very “long”.
Orban in the corner
Instead, a few hours were enough for the heads of state and government to corner the Hungarian Viktor Orban, who was threatening the veto. The Hungarian leader, being the “pragmatic” politician he is (as defined by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk), chose not to participate in the decision in front of his 26 compact colleagues, leaving the room. No one, therefore, objected to the conclusions on enlargement.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, was satisfied and, coming down to the press room among the reporters, hailed the “historic moment”, which demonstrates the “credibility” of the EU. Orban, for his part, this morning underlined that Ukraine does not respect “three out of seven criteria” identified by the Commission. In the end, he retreated, but talking about defeat is excessive, if not wrong: the Hungarian leader still takes home the release of 10.2 billion euros of cohesion funds, thanks to the justice reform.
Opinions differ on the true objectives of the Hungarian leader. According to a diplomatic source, he “just wanted the money”. According to another source, he “wanted to please the public opinion of him”. Whatever his intent, the Hungarian leader did not participate in what he believes to be a bad decision, without blocking it. Michel, for his part, brings home a political success: the start of accession talks, he underlines “is a very powerful political signal. I think of the Ukrainian people: we are at their side”.
When will Ukraine join the EU?
Several leaders stressed that the start of accession negotiations does not mean that these countries will join the EU soon: on the contrary, it will take “years”, underlined among others the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. But what matters is the political signal: as Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said, it was not possible to deny this prospect to the Ukrainians, who have been fighting against the Russians for two years to one day join the Union. Even more so now that the US Congress, as Rutte recalled, has “postponed” the allocation of new military aid.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo explained that Orban, in front of 26 colleagues, all determined to give the green light to the start of negotiations, decided “not to use his right of veto”. Ukraine, he added, “is a country at war for almost two years: the Ukrainian population has made enormous sacrifices. It is also a very important message for Moscow: Europe does not abandon Ukraine and this message says that we are here together, we are united in Europe and that we want to keep Ukraine on our side”.
Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob reminded a Georgian journalist that the decision is above all “symbolic” and that Tbilisi must “work hard” to meet the criteria. But he also underlined what everyone knows, namely that there is a “geopolitical” situation that cannot be ignored and which could accelerate the accession process. Michel explained that the success was due to the long work done in preparation for the summit. And probably also to a wise management of expectations, given that a 'monster' Euco had been feared, even evoking the precedent of the Council of July 2020 which started Next Generation Eu, which lasted a good four days and four nights. In any case, the EU sends a clear message to Ukraine and above all to Putin's Russia, not denying the overtures made to Kiev since the association agreement came into force in 2017.
Zelensky's joy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, returning from a mission in the USA from which he did not gain much, receives a clear political signal from the European Union, which does not abandon him, despite the “fatigue that everyone is talking about”, as the president of the Parliament Roberta Metsola (“it is our responsibility to prevent it from taking hold”, she remarks).
For Zelensky, “history is made by those who never tire of fighting for freedom.” Now the European Council must decide on the revision of the Mff 2021-27: the package is in the hands of the Sherpas, who should find a solution within the 'negobox' presented by Michel. The negotiations remain “difficult”, but the 50 billion euros for Ukraine (17 billion in transfers and 33 billion in loans) are not put in doubt by any of the 26. Perhaps the Ukrainians, struggling with a hard winter and with the bombings of the Russian invaders, from yesterday evening they will feel a little less alone.
#UkraineEU #membership #talks #Kiev #enter