Candidates for EU membership Ukraine and Moldova (upd)

LAST UPDATE 15:15

The commission has proposed that Ukraine (and Moldova) be given EU candidate status, said Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen, adding that this was linked to an understanding that Ukraine would proceed with a number of reforms.

“Ukraine has already shown clearly its ambition and determination to live up to European values ​​and standards,” he told reporters in Brussels.

To make the announcement, von der Leyen dressed in the colors of Ukraine, with a motivational jacket and a blue blouse.

Instead, Georgia is required to meet certain conditions in order to obtain the same status.

If the commission’s decision is ratified – as expected – at next week’s Summit of Leaders, it will be a significant boost to morale for Kyiv and further Western contempt for Russian President Putin following the invasion of Ukraine.

“Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective. We want them to live the European dream with us,” von der Leyen said.

Ukraine already has a free trade agreement with the EU, but applied for membership a few days after the February 24 invasion.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov said in a statement that the commission’s decision was based on “the fact that it is being monitored closely.”

Ever since Ukraine and Moldova gained their independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, pro-Russian and pro-European governments have been fighting for control.

The Commission’s announcement comes at a time when some EU countries, including the Netherlands and Denmark, are not in favor of more countries accepting candidate status, although Zelensky yesterday won the support of France, Germany, Italy and Romania.

The Commission proposal is expected to pave the way for EU leaders to approve it at the next summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, which is expected to boost morale for Ukraine as it faces the Russian invasion.

On their first visit to Kyiv since the Russian invasion, Frenchman Macron, German Solz, Italian Draghi and Romanian Johannes said Ukraine belonged to the “European family”.

Ukraine’s candidate status, which Ukraine has been seeking since 2014, when protests in Kyiv ousted the unpopular pro-Russian president, will mark a milestone in the path from a former Soviet republic to a developed economy in the world’s largest trade union. .

However, the path to integration is expected to take years, requiring profound reforms to tackle endemic corruption.

EU enlargement as a policy has also stalled since 2018. EU member states can not agree on whether to bring other candidate countries (Albania, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey) into the Union.