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The European Commission has recommended that Ukraine become a candidate for EU membership.

Ursula von der Leyen, chairwoman of the commission, said on Friday that the EU executive believes that Ukraine should be given status on condition that it continues to make reforms aimed at bringing it into line with EU regulations. . These reforms include the rule of law, the fight against corruption and its judicial system.

“Ukraine has clearly demonstrated the country’s aspirations and determination to meet European values ​​and standards,” von der Leyen told reporters, noting that the EC had “very carefully” assessed the “merits” of its implementation.

Kyiv applied to become a member shortly after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

While it is an important step, the commission’s opinion must now be endorsed by each of the 27 EU member states at a leaders’ summit next Thursday and Friday.

Some countries, such as Denmark, the Netherlands and Portugal, have expressed suspicion about the measure, and discussions are not expected to be straightforward.

Ukraine’s bid received a significant boost on Thursday with the joint visit of French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi to Kyiv, where the three most powerful EU leaders endorsed their desire to join the blog.

However, even if the 27 countries grant candidate status to Ukraine next week, it will face a long and arduous process before becoming a member of the EU.

The newest country to join the EU, Croatia, took nine years to become a member after receiving candidate status in 2004, while Northern Macedonia has been an official candidate country since 2005. Albania , the Republic of Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey are also candidate countries.

Von der Leyen also said that the commission recommended candidate status in Moldova, under similar conditions in Ukraine. However, he said Georgia’s status as a candidate country should only be granted after it has taken further steps to meet EU requirements.

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