Ukraine will learn by the end of next week whether it can start the process of joining the European Union (EU).
During a surprise visit to the capital, Kyiv, European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, met with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday and told him about discussions on whether to recommend Ukraine as a candidate for membership.
The move would only be a preliminary step in a long process.
All 27 EU governments would have to agree to grant Ukraine candidate status, after which there would be extensive talks on the reforms required before Kyiv could be considered for membership.
President Zelensky has been pressing for rapid admission into the European Union as a way of reducing Ukraine’s geopolitical vulnerability after Russia’s February 24 invasion.
But officials and leaders in the bloc cautioned that even with candidacy status, actual EU membership could take years – or even decades.
Von der Leyen, in her second trip to Kyiv since the start of Russia’s attack, reminded President Zelensky that despite progress on administrative reforms and elsewhere, much was still needed to be accomplished.
“You have done a lot in strengthening the rule of law, but there is still a need for reforms to be implemented, to fight corruption, for example,” she told a joint news conference with Ukraine’s leader.
Joining the EU was a process that usually took years and required meeting strict criteria – from economic stability to rooting out corruption to respecting human rights.
Despite reservations among some member states, EU leaders were expected to approve Ukraine’s candidate status at a summit on June 23-24, though with stern conditions attached.
President Zelensky told the same briefing, “All of Europe is a target for Russia, and Ukraine is just the first stage in this aggression.
“This is why a positive EU response to the Ukrainian application for membership can be a positive answer to the question of whether the European project has a future at all.”
The Russian invasion – the biggest assault on a European state since World War II – has upended Europe’s security order and spurred EU capitals into rethinking what the bloc should stand for and its economic, defence, and energy policies.