EU decision to launch Ukraine membership talks next month "at risk", says official

A decision to invite Ukraine to start EU membership talks expected when European Union leaders meet for a summit mid-December was "at risk", a senior official with the bloc said on Friday.

A decision to invite Ukraine to start EU membership talks expected when European Union leaders meet for a summit mid-December was "at risk", a senior official with the bloc said on Friday. The official, who spoke under condition of anonymity, quoted Hungarian resistance potentially obstructing the necessary unanimity of 27 EU countries as one reason.

The person said that the way the EU executive formulated its proposal for the December summit decision, to agree to start negotiations when Kyiv meets the final conditions, took away the pressure as it also envisaged another assessment in March, 2024. "I think it will be used by some to say 'Let's come back in March'," said the official. Asked if that meant the December decision was at risk, the person said: "Of course."