EU Leaders Grant Ukraine Accession Talks Amidst Orban's Scrutiny

Hungary's Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, could potentially block Ukraine's main aims of receiving a symbolic invitation to start formal EU negotiations, €54bn in EU funds, and €24bn in military support at the EU leaders' summit. Orban argues that Ukraine does not meet the preconditions for EU membership due to issues such as war, corruption, a large agricultural sector, and mistreatment of its Hungarian minority. Despite broad support from other EU leaders, Orban's opposition threatens to complicate matters for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who failed to secure $61bn in US military funding during his visit to Washington. The EU Commission has suggested that six out of seven preconditions for formal accession talks have been met, but Budapest disputes this, accusing Brussels of lowering the bar to help Kyiv.