EU Agrees To Open Ukraine Membership Talks

Topline

The European Union on Thursday unanimously agreed to open membership talks for Ukraine, the president of the European Council announced, a decision Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lauded as a “victory” in what could be a blow to Russia, as its invasion of Ukraine nears the two-year mark.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the EU’s decision to open membership talks to Ukraine … [+] was a “victory.”

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Key Facts

EU leaders agreed at a meeting in Brussels to open talks for Ukraine—as well as neighboring Moldova—to enter the 27-member bloc, despite years-long opposition from Hungary.

Zelensky, who has long pushed for EU membership, praised the decision in a post on X, saying: “History is made by those who don’t get tired of fighting for freedom.”

Ukraine applied for EU membership in February 2022, just four days after the country was invaded by Russia, an ongoing invasion that has led to an estimated 315,000 Russian troops being killed or injured, according to a U.S. intelligence report released this week, while Ukrainian forces are estimated to have suffered 70,000 deaths and up to 120,000 injuries, the New York Times reported in August.

If accepted into the EU, Ukraine would be eligible for EU grants, as well as funding from the EUs common budget and be able to switch to the Euro as its currency, though Ukrainian officials have warned its admission could prompt Russia to retaliate.

Analysts have also argued support for Ukraine’s admission into the EU would serve as a blow to Russia, with Daniel Gros, an analyst with the Brussels-based think tank CEPS, telling CNBC last year such support would represent a “moral boost to Ukraine and a signal to Russia that the EU will not be deterred.”

Tangent

Zelensky has also been pushing for Ukraine’s admission into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization—which includes the U.S. and Canada, and functions as a military alliance. Zelensky stepped up his pleas to join the organization last summer, four months after Russia invaded Ukraine, asking NATO members in a June 2022 summit whether the eastern European country has “not paid enough” to join NATO, even after NATO members reached a deal to allow Finland and Sweden to join the organization. But Ukraine’s admission into NATO is not a straightforward shot. According to reports released this summer, NATO could only allow Ukraine to join under certain conditions (those reports did not specify any conditions in particular). One obstacle stymying Ukraine’s admission is NATO’s Article 5, which indicates any “armed attack” against a member state “shall be considered an attack against all of them,” meaning member states would need to defend Ukraine against Russia if Ukraine is admitted while Russia’s war is ongoing.

Contra

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has long rejected calls for Ukraine to join the EU or NATO, said in a press conference last week there would only be peace in Ukraine after Russia achieves its goals in the country. Putin reiterated his talking points of a need to “demilitarize” Ukraine and rid the country of Nazis, despite that claim being roundly debunked.