The European Commission has said Ukraine should be given candidate status to join the EU, in a show of confidence in the wartime government of Volodymyr Zelenskiy and a diplomatic blow to Vladimir Putin.
The EU executive also recommended candidate status for Moldova, another former Soviet state that launched an EU membership bid soon after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But it gave a more guarded response to Georgia, saying the country needed to carry out further anti-corruption and judicial reforms.
EU leaders will decide next week whether to grant the three states EU candidate status, although full membership would be likely to take years. The decision would be a historic step for Ukraine, where reformers have been seeking democratic change since the Maidan protests of 2014, events that were the prelude to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and war on its neighbour. » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Friday, June 17, 2022
