EU Leaders to Decide on Ukraine EU Candidacy Fate

European Union (EU) leaders will decide today on whether to grant Ukraine’s EU candidate status after the European Commission gave the war-stricken country a positive recommendation last Friday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday said that he had spoken with 11 EU leaders and will make more calls today as he believes that all EU countries will support Ukraine’s bid.

Zelenskyy said that the moment will be “very crucial” for Ukraine.

Among the countries that are in support of Ukraine are some of the largest EU leaders, with France and Germany showing all-out support as French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Kyiv just last week.

Ukraine has hastily filed an application to join the EU just days after Russia’s invasion began, where Zelenskyy called for “immediate accession under a new special procedure,” to deter further Russian attacks.

This has not been the first time Ukraine sought EU membership as the country has already been seeking to be a member of the bloc since 2004, during the “orange revolution,” and after the ouster of pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych in 2014.

The candidate status of Ukraine is the first step to full membership. From then on, political and economic conditions must be met by Ukraine to reach full membership. (GFB)