BREAKING: Georgia Granted EU Candidate Status

The European Council has decided to grant EU candidate status to Georgia. The Council also decided to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova and will open negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership is reached, tweeted Charles Michel, the President of EU Council.

The decision is, writes Michel, “a clear signal of hope for their people and for our continent.” This is a “historic day”, he said which “shows credibility of the European Union, strength of the European Union.”

According to an EU official who spoke on condition of anonymity, in what appears to be an unprecedented case, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban did not vote and walked out of the meeting, but did not block the decision. The decision taken by 26 member states, however, is legally binding.

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