German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will support opening EU membership talks with Ukraine during a European leaders' summit later this week, a senior official said on Tuesday.
"Germany supports opening EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. We also support granting candidate status to Georgia, provided that it continues with the necessary reforms," the official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
EU leaders are scheduled to meet in Brussels for a two-day summit on Thursday and Friday to discuss EU enlargement policy, financial and military support to Ukraine, and the latest situation in the Middle East.
The German official said that during the European Council summit, they will also try to reach an agreement to allocate €50 billion ($53.90 billion) funding for Ukraine over the 2024-2027 period.
The official further said this would send a strong message to Russia, and would help Ukraine to address its financial needs and take the necessary reform steps as part of its EU membership process.
Despite support from Germany and other key members, Hungary remains skeptical about opening EU membership talks with Ukraine due to the political and economic problems associated with the ongoing war.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Tuesday that starting accession talks with Ukraine would be "irresponsible" as the European Commission had not prepared the groundwork.
Neither the EU nor Ukraine were well-prepared "for mutually beneficial and well-structured accession talks," he said, according to the national news agency, MTI.
On Monday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on EU member states to reach a decision this week on opening membership talks, and warned that a failure to do so would have "devastating consequences" for his country.
