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European Union leaders decided today to start membership negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.
The bloc also granted Georgia candidate country status, having previously been denied such a title.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, called this a ray of hope for our continent.
The EU announced that it will open negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is achieved.
The European Commission will have to report by March on the progress made by the Balkan country in order to decide the next steps.
This is a major step by the Union after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatened to veto the two candidate states.
"Enlargement is not a theoretical issue, it is a merit-based, legally detailed process, which has prerequisites. If you have not met the prerequisites, there is no chance to start negotiations. We should re-examine Ukraine's request later, when it is fulfilled by them," the Hungarian Prime Minister said.
After resolving the enlargement issue, EU leaders will now review the bloc's joint budget, which includes a special fund of 50 billion euros to provide Ukraine with long-term financial support.
Orban also announced that he is against this fund.
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