Zelenskyy Speaks at Summit on Ukraine's EU Accession Talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke via video call at a meeting of the European Council on Thursday morning – the EU summit to discuss the possibility of starting the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU.

The president of Ukraine is not a member of the European Council (EU summit), since this body includes only the heads of EU states.

However, the president of the European Council has the authority to invite guests to the meeting on his own without needing unanimous consent of all states.

According to European Pravda, Zelenskyy visiting Brussels personally was previously considered (since last week, the president of Ukraine has made a series of foreign trips), but the EU has not confirmed Zelenskyy’s personal presence at the summit.

The EU summit in Brussels on 14-15 December will consider, among other things, the issue of starting negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU and on medium-term financial assistance to Ukraine.

However, Hungarian leader Orbán Viktor says that "he sees no reason" for accession negotiations with Ukraine.