[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] On the first day of the European Union (EU) summit on the 23rd (local time), EU member state leaders are expected to grant candidate status to Ukraine, which is under Russian airstrikes, as a step to offer Ukraine the opportunity to become an EU member, according to reports by The Guardian and others.
According to reports, at the EU summit held over two days starting today in Brussels, Belgium, the member state leaders will decide whether to grant candidate status to Ukraine. This comes four months after Ukraine proposed EU membership.
Generally, it takes several years to move from submitting an EU membership application to becoming a candidate country, but The Guardian reported that this process has been dramatically accelerated in response to anger over the unexpected brutality of Russia's attack and in support of Ukraine. Other foreign media interpreted that while Ukraine and Moldova, as candidate countries, may still have to wait for more than a decade, the decision at this EU summit will be symbolic.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the expected move, saying it is "like moving from darkness to light." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also said that this candidate status will "resolve decades of ambiguity and lay a foundation," adding, "Ukraine is Europe and is no longer part of the Russian world."
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