(UTV | BELGIUM) – The European Union agreed to put Ukraine on a path towards EU membership, acting with uncharacteristic speed and unity to pull the embattled country further away from Russia’s influence and bind it more closely to the West.
Meeting at a summit in Brussels on Thursday, leaders of the EU’s 27 nations mustered the required unanimous approval to grant Ukraine candidate status. That sets in motion a membership process that could take years – or even decades.
The move comes just one day short of the four-month anniversary of President Vladimir Putin ordering his troops into Ukraine for what Russia insisted is not a war, but a “special military operation”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted his gratitude and declared: “Ukraine’s future is within the EU.”
Sincerely commend EU leaders’ decision at #EUCO to grant 🇺🇦 a candidate status. It’s a unique and historical moment in 🇺🇦-🇪🇺 relations. Grateful to @CharlesMichel, @vonderleyen and EU leaders for support. Ukraine’s future is within the EU. #EmbraceUkraine https://t.co/o6dJVmTQrn
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 23, 2022
“Today is a good day for Europe,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter.
The EU also gave candidate status to the tiny country of Moldova, another former Soviet republic that borders Ukraine.