Ukraine's Long and Bumpy Road to EU Membership Officially Begins

EU member states' decision to start accession talks with Ukraine has kicked off a long process that may still be obstructed at multiple later stages, while the bloc's failure to approve a 50 billion euro aid package will delay, but likely not block, the disbursement of crucial EU financial support for Kyiv. During a summit on Dec. 14-15, EU leaders agreed to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, grant candidate status to Georgia, and postpone talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina until it completes reforms toward meeting accession criteria. At the same time, they failed to strike a deal to increase EU funding to Ukraine by 50 billion euros ($53.4 billion) as part of the bloc's long-term budget. In the weeks leading to the summit, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatened to veto both the financial aid for Ukraine and the country's EU membership bid (both of which require unanimity...