EU Summit Agrees to Grant Ukraine Candidate Status for Membership

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] European Union (EU) member state leaders agreed on the 23rd (local time) to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate country for EU membership.

Charles Michel, President of the EU Council, announced via Twitter that the leaders of the 27 member states decided on the status of candidate countries for Ukraine and Moldova at the summit held in Brussels, Belgium, on the same day.

President Michel emphasized that it was a "historic moment." He also congratulated Ukraine and Moldova, saying, "Today is a significant step on your path toward the EU."

Immediately afterward, Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, wrote on Twitter, "A very special and historic moment," adding, "The future of Ukraine lies with the EU."

This follows President Zelensky's official request for Ukraine's EU membership on February 28, after Russia's invasion. Subsequently, Georgia and Moldova, which were part of the former Soviet Union, also applied for EU membership.

However, there are expectations that it may take years to decades for Ukraine to obtain full membership status. To join the EU, the process involves application, obtaining official candidate country status, conducting formal accession negotiations, and approval. Additionally, all 27 EU member state governments must agree. It is reported that some member states are currently showing a lukewarm attitude toward Ukraine's candidate status.

Croatia, which was the last country to join the EU in 2013, took about 10 years from application to membership.

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