Deal reached to open EU accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova – as it happened

Bloc's leaders decide to open negotiations after hours of talks as Viktor Orban says Hungary does not want to take part in bad decision'

• Why the EU budget summit is a test of European democracy

The Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, told reporters at the summit this morning that the European Commission unfroze part of Hungary's EU funding yesterday because the rules are the rules".

Addressing today's summit, he said:

I've been attending European Council meetings for six or seven years now.

This is probably one of the most important ones that I've attended, precisely because of the big decisions we have to make in relation to Ukraine: a financial decision and also a decision on whether to begin negotiations.