BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Ukraine is expected to gain official status as a candidate for membership of the European Union (EU) on Thursday, a symbolic decision but likely to boost morale in Ukraine after its invasion by Russia, ministers and diplomats said on Tuesday.
European leaders are expected to follow the recommendation made last week by the European Commission to grant Ukraine EU candidate status.
After several days of internal discussions within the EU, no opposition emerged among the 27 member states over the candidacy, three diplomats told Reuters.
“We are working to get to the point where we will tell (Russian President Vladimir) Putin that Ukraine belongs to Europe, that we will also defend the values that Ukraine defends,” Luxembourg’s business minister told reporters. foreign countries, Jean Asselborn, before a meeting with his European counterparts.
According to diplomats, it is also almost a given that Moldova will also obtain official candidate status, even if the country must meet certain conditions regarding the political impasse it finds itself in.
Despite the reluctance of the northern EU countries, which believe that the integration into the EU of the country – which also suffers from endemic corruption and asked to join a few days after the invasion of Russia – is unrealistic, the Danish Foreign Minister said he welcomed the granting of candidate status to Kyiv.
“It’s very good and it’s something that Denmark wholeheartedly supports; we want to help Ukraine achieve its European dream,” Jeppe Kofod told reporters in Luxembourg.
This candidacy marks a strategic shift of the EU towards the countries of Eastern Europe in the context of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. But if it succeeds, the procedure for Kyiv to become a member of the Union should take several years.
(Bart Meijer, Francesco Guarascio and Robin Emmott report; French version Diana Mandiá, edited by Matthieu Protard)
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