European Union Leaders Meet To Decide On EU Candidate Status To Ukraine

The European Union leaders are meeting in Brussels Thursday to decide whether to approve the European Commission’s decision last week to grant Ukraine EU candidate status.

If some opinions from key EU officials ahead of the summit are any indication, the common ground of the 27-nation bloc is in favor of Ukraine’s candidacy.

“This is a decisive moment for the European Union. A geopolitical choice that we will make today,” European Council President Charles Michel said on his way to Brussels.

He told reporters that he was confident that EU leaders will grant candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova and express a clear and strong European perspective for both nations.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola also sounded optimistic of Ukraine getting EU candidate status.

“A day where I thought we would wait much longer to have it on paper, and I really welcome the unity and the leadership of the European Union on this,” she said.

The agenda for the two-day summit says, “The European Council will discuss the wider Europe, Ukraine, EU membership applications from Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, economic issues, the Conference on the Future of Europe and external relations”.

EU leaders will discuss the latest developments in Russia’s war against Ukraine, including its impact on the global food security crisis. The discussion will also include continued EU support to Ukraine, which comprises economic, military, political and humanitarian support.

The European Council will hold a strategic discussion on the EU’s relations with its partners in Europe, including on how to foster political dialogue and strengthen the security, stability and prosperity of the European continent.

In addition to Ukraine, the summit will also consider membership applications from other Black Sea nations of Moldova and Georgia.

Ukraine applied for EU membership on February 28, just four days after Russia invaded it. Georgia and Moldova both applied for EU membership on March 3.

The European Commission issued its opinion on the countries’ applications on June 17, and the final decision rests with the European Council.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Kyiv last week to meet with Ukraine’s President Volodymir Zelensky to discuss the country’s EU membership.

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