Bloomberg: Ukraine to receive EU candidate status this week

The European Union’s 27 member states are set to formally grant Ukraine candidate status later this week, following a June 20 meeting of EU ambassadors where nobody opposed the decision, according to people familiar with the matter, Report informs referring to Bloomberg.

The bloc is also set to back the commission’s opinion in granting candidate status to Moldova, as well as to Georgia if it first meets specific additional conditions, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.

“The status is particularly significant for Ukraine, which has invested so much of its political future on a closer relationship with Europe as it seeks moral support in countering Russian aggression,” Bloomberg noted.

EU leaders will meet in Brussels June 23-24 when the commission’s recommendations are expected to be given the green light, the people said. The final decision to grant the status and any attached conditions will have to be approved by all the member states before it is final.

“Now is the time to acknowledge that the future of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia lies within the EU,” European Council President Charles Michel wrote in a letter inviting the leaders to this week’s summit. “I will invite you to grant candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova.”

Discussions are going in the right direction and Ukraine’s candidate status is on track to be approved, according to an EU official.