During the meeting of the European Council on Thursday, December 14, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Cro announced that the European Union will start official negotiations with Ukraine regarding its membership in the EU already on Monday, December 18.
The decision to start negotiations was made after receiving the "green light" at the leaders' summit in Brussels, where the recommendation of the European Commission regarding Ukraine's accession to the EU was approved. It is important to note that this decision must be taken unanimously, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban abstained from voting.
De Cro determined that Orbán's detention is not a veto, and the decision is binding on the other 27 EU countries. Orbán explained his involvement in the decision in a Facebook video, saying he did not want to be involved in a "bad decision".
EU leaders are also discussing the EU's long-term budget, including 50 billion euros in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine, which Orbán opposes. The summit will last until the evening of December 15.
