EU Cracks the Door for Ukraine

With Viktor Orban deposed, Ukraine was able to take a major step Monday in its long campaign to join the European Union. EU ministers meeting in Luxembourg formally opened talks on the first batch of reforms Ukraine must carry out to join the 27-country bloc, with Moldova moving ahead on the same track, the New York Times reports. A Hungarian veto under Orban, who was ousted as prime minister in April elections, had held up Ukraine's bid for two years, per the German news agency dpa.

EU membership is not imminent for Ukraine; the accession process takes an average of nine years. Orban's successor, Peter Magyar, dropped the veto while publicly floating a 10- to 15-year horizon. And approval could be contingent on a referendum in Hungary. The initial "fundamentals" package covers rule of law, basic rights, justice systems, public procurement, and statistics. Still, EU officials say the Ukrainians' wartime anti-corruption and governance reforms are "opening the door" to deeper integration. "They are delivering reform after reform, while their cities are under attack, while the sky above them is filled with smoke," EU leader Ursula von der Leyen said earlier this month.