Summit: A “historic moment” for the European Union – Orban left before a decision was made on Ukraine

At the summit, the leaders of the European Union member states decided to open accession negotiations for Ukraine and Moldova, with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban not participating in the vote.

the Viktor Orbán He expressed his disagreement with the leaders’ decision at the summit, and there were even fears that he would veto it. But in the end, he did not participate in the vote on accession negotiations.

The nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister said in a Facebook post that his country did not want to “share the responsibility” for this matter. “Bad decision.”

A European diplomat told AFP: “Viktor Orban He was not present in the hall when the text was approvedWhile other diplomats said, according to Reuters, that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz At the summit he suggested that Viktor Orbán leave From the room while making the decision on Ukraine.

For his part, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told reporters that Viktor Orban “does not agree with the decision and does not change his mind, but he has basically decided not to use his veto.” At the same time, he confirmed that the Hungarian Prime Minister was not present in the room.

Charles Michel said in his statements after the decision to start accession negotiations between Ukraine and Moldova:This is a historic moment “It shows the credibility and strength of the European Union.”

For his part, the German Chancellor said. Olaf Sulz He considered that the aforementioned decision issued by the European Union constitutes “Strong signal of support” He offers a “perspective” of this country. “We have just decided to start accession negotiations with Ukraine and also with Moldova,” he said through a post on Platform X. It is clear that these countries belong to the European family.”

The Spanish Prime Minister spoke of a “historic day.” Pedro Sanchez. Through a post on the X platform, he said: “Today is a historic day for Europe. “I would like to congratulate Ukraine and Moldova on the European Council’s decision to start negotiations for their accession to the European Union,” he added. “We also welcome Georgia’s granting of EU candidate status, as well as the progress achieved by Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Zelensky said: The summit: victory for all of Europe

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croix said the “green light” given to Ukraine by the European Union is a “very clear message” to Ukrainians and Russians. At the same time, Moldova’s President, Maia Sandu, welcomed the European Union’s decision, stressing that… “A new page in history” “No one could have imagined” such a development in her country as it was just two years ago.

It is reported that earlier today, the President of the European Council said in his post on Platform Continent.

Immediately afterwards, Volodymyr Zelensky, in a post on social media, spoke of “a victory for the whole of Europe.” “It is a victory for Ukraine, for all of Europe, and it is a victory that inspires us and makes us stronger.” stated. The Ukrainian president, who earlier urged Europeans not to ignore this “appointment with history,” added that “history is written by those who do not tire of the struggle for freedom.”

It is worth noting that the European Council also granted Candidate state status in Georgia While negotiations will begin, with conditions, with Bosnia and Herzegovina. In turn, Georgian President Salome Zurabesvili welcomed the decision, which she described as a “big step.”

Regarding this, Charles Michel said:“We will start negotiations and the report will be issued in March.”. At the same time, he spoke of “a very strong political message, a very strong political decision.” As the President of the European Council emphasized, “It was important that no Member State opposed the resolution, which is why we were able to make this announcement tonight.”

With information from APE-MPE-AFP-Reuters