EU officials said on Tuesday that there was no opposition within the 27-nation bloc to granting war-torn Ukraine “candidate status”, ahead of a summit expected to green light the move.
The bloc’s executive arm last week proposed taking the symbolic first step to put Ukraine on the years-long path towards EU membership in a strong sign of support for Kyiv.
A two-day summit from Thursday looks set to approve the move to formally name Ukraine and Moldova “candidates” to start negotiations on joining.
The EU is expected to impose conditions on over judicial reforms and tackling corruption, among other issues, before they could move on to formal entry negotiations. It would then take years — if not decades — of painstaking evaluations before Ukraine would get close to becoming an actual member.
Momentum has picked up for the EU to open the door to Ukraine after the leaders of heavyweights France, Germany and Italy threw their heft behind the move on a visit to Kyiv last week.
