Ukraine has moved one step closer to membership after leaders in Brussels agreed to open negotiations with the war-torn nation.
In a surprise announcement late Thursday, EU summit chair , who is the European Council president, said leaders had decided to start accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova.
"The European Council has decided to open accession negotiations with Ukraine & Moldova," he said via X, formerly Twitter.
"#EUCO granted candidate status to Georgia. And the EU will open negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is reached and has invited the commission to report by March with a view to taking such a decision," he added.
"A clear signal of hope for their people and for our continent."
The agreement comes despite Hungary pledging to block this decision during the current two-day EU summit. A handful of other member states, such as Italy, have also raised issues over enlarging the EU.
Details of the agreement were not immediately clear and there was no confirmation on whether talks would start now or in March.
where support for Ukraine is at the top of the agenda. The meeting comes at a crunch time for Ukraine, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hops across the world seeking further aid in the fight against .
Speaking via X, Zelenskyy replied to Michel saying it was "a victory" for his country and Europe. "A victory that motivates, inspires, and strengthens," he said, according to a Reuters translation.
Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, meanwhile, called it a bad decision and that his country did not participate in the decision-making process. Orban left the room when the vote among EU leaders started on Thursday evening, according to one EU official.
— CNBC's Silvia Amaro contributed to this article.
