Historic night in Versailles: the EU said so to the European integration of Ukraine

This was announced by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda following a 5-hour debate of EU leaders.

He called this decision historic.

"A historic night at Versailles. After five hours of heated discussions, EU leaders said yes to Ukrainian eurointegration. The process started", he wrote on his Twitter.

"Now it is up to us and Ukrainians to accomplish it fast. Heroic Ukrainian nation deserves to know that they are welcome in EU", the Lithuanian President added.

At the same time, Reuters notes that there is no talk of an early entry into the European Union. The agency writes that the EU "smashes Ukraine's hopes for an early membership."

Note that there is no mention of the accelerated procedure in the text of the declaration.

Moreover, the document does not talk about the accession procedure and it is intermediate.

"The European Council recognized the European aspirations and the European choice of Ukraine, as stated in the Association Agreement. On February 28, 2022, the President of Ukraine, exercising the right of Ukraine to choose its own destiny, applied for Ukraine to join the European Union", Ukrayinska Pravda quotes the declaration.

"The EU Council promptly invited the European Commission to submit its opinion on this application in accordance with the relevant provisions of the EU Treaties. Until this opinion is issued, from now on we will further strengthen our ties and deepen our partnership in order to support Ukraine on its European path. Ukraine belongs to our European family", the document says.