EU, Ukraine start formal accession talks after Orban delay

The EU and Ukraine on Monday formally opened the first stage of accession negotiations with a view to Kyiv one day joining the 28-member bloc.

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 turbocharged an idea that at one point was contentious among the country's electorate.

For the past two years, the process had been on hold. That's because starting it requires unanimous approval from existing EU governments, and Hungary's former Prime Minister Viktor Orban was blocking the move.

The talks had already started on a technical level despite the Hungarian obstruction.

Hungary's new prime minister, Peter Magyar, recently announced that he had reached an agreement with Ukraine on measures to strengthen the rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority in the country. Magyar had made such an agreement a condition for lifting Budapest's veto of Ukraine's EU accession talks.

"Today, we are taking a historic step towards Ukraine's future within the EU, by opening formal negotiations for its accession. A united and determined G7 is essential to help bring this war to an end and achieve a just and lasting peace," European Council President Antonio Costa wrote online as he attended the G7 summit in Evian, France .

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that opening the first so-called negotiating cluster was a "huge step forward," praising Ukraine for the progress made so far on reforms on issues like corruption and the rule of law.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday's development "sends a clear message that Europe's progress cannot be stopped."