Brussels (CNN) — The European Council has decided to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, Charles Michel, President of the EU Council, announced on X on Thursday.
The decision was called “a victory for Ukraine” by the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
“This is a victory for Ukraine. A victory for all of Europe. A victory that motivates, inspires, and strengthens,” Zelensky posted on X following the announcement.
“History is made by those who don’t get tired of fighting for freedom,” Zelensky said.
Ukraine has held ambitions to join the European Union for more than a decade. The announcement by the European Council comes nearly two years after the bloc accepted Ukraine as a candidate state.
Still, a few fundamental obstacles stand in the way of Ukraine joining the bloc.
Ukraine is not going to be allowed to bypass the process that all countries must go through before joining the EU and in all, it could still be a decade until Ukraine actually joins the EU and can enjoy the benefits of full membership.
Ukraine will likely still need to meet the conditions of the Copenhagen Criteria – an opaque trio of requirements that the EU must be satisfied are met – before moving to the next stage of negotiations.
The critera focus on whether or not a candidate country has a functioning free-market economy, if the country’s institutions are fit to uphold European values such as human rights and the EU’s interpretation of the rule of law, and whether the country has a functioning, inclusive democracy.
All of those things are hard to prove for any country let alone one currently under invasion and in a state of war.
If Ukraine can meet the Copenhagen Criteria, EU and Ukrainian officials can start negotiating under the 35 Chapters of the Acquis, which lay out the accession conditions. All chapters of negotiations must be fully closed, signed off by every EU member state, then ratified by EU parliament.
