Flags of Ukraine fly in front of the EU Parliament building on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, in Brussels, Belgium February 24, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/Fie Photo
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday he hoped to open enlargement talks between the European Union and Ukraine before the end of his country's six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the EU on Dec. 31.
"I kicked off the Spanish presidency with a trip to Kyiv and I hope to close it with the opening of accession negotiations with this country, now that the European Commission's report is known," Sanchez told a plenary session of the European Parliament.
On Nov. 8, the EU's executive body recommended that Kyiv be invited to begin membership talks as soon as it meets final remaining conditions related to reining in corruption, adopting a law on lobbying in line with EU standards and strengthening national minority safeguards.
Sanchez added that "the time has come for the EU to open its doors and integrate Ukraine, and also Moldova and the countries of the West Balkans".
EU countries are set to meet on Thursday and Friday for a summit to discuss Ukraine's membership bid, as well as the bloc's potential expansion to include Georgia, Moldova and western Balkans nations such as Montenegro.
On Monday, Hungary said it would not bow to pressure from other EU members to give the green light for accession talks with Ukraine, setting the stage for a showdown at the summit.
The final decision - as well as another on what would be the EU's 12th package of sanctions against Russia since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 - requires the unanimous backing of all the bloc's 27 countries.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Emma Pinedo; Writing by David Latona; Editing by Andrei Khalip)
