Draft of EU Summit Includes Granting Ukraine Candidate Status for EU Membership

Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine
Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

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[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The European Union (EU) is expected to grant Ukraine candidate status for EU membership at the summit held in Brussels, Belgium on the 23rd-24th (local time).

Bloomberg reported on the 23rd (local time) that the draft joint statement of this EU summit includes provisions to grant candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova. The EU plans to state that Georgia must meet certain criteria to be granted candidate status.

Ukraine applied for EU membership on February 28, just four days after Russia's invasion.

The European Commission, the EU's executive body, recommended on the 17th that Ukraine be granted candidate status for EU membership.

If the 27 member states unanimously approve at this EU summit, Ukraine will acquire candidate status at "ultra-fast" speed. Normally, becoming an EU candidate requires answering thousands of questions, which usually takes several years. Turkey applied for EU membership in 1987 but only obtained candidate status in 2004 and has not yet become a member.

Even if Ukraine quickly obtains EU candidate status, becoming a full member is another matter. It can take years or even decades to become a full member.

Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister, said in an interview the day before, "I am 100% confident that all 27 EU member states will approve Ukraine's candidate status at this summit," according to the AP News Agency.

On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking via video at a fundraising event for Ukraine held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, said that a "historic decision" on EU candidate status is imminent and asserted, "We deserve it."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.