EU and Ukrainian flags on the European Parliament building in Brussels, Belgium. File photoBRUSSELS, Jun 13On Monday, the European Commissioners will start discussing the issue of granting the status of a candidate for EU membership to Ukraine, as well as Moldova and Georgia. On Monday, there will be a general debate, and on Friday, June 17, the European Commission should decide on its opinion and prepare an appropriate recommendation. The decision to grant or deny candidate status will be made by the heads of state and government of the EU at the summit in Brussels on June 23-24, taking into account the recommendations of the European Commission. Candidate status is necessary to start negotiations on joining the EU. On Saturday, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visited Kyiv, where she held consultations in preparation of the report. «We want to support Ukraine on its European path. We want to look to the future,» the head of the European Commission said following the visit. According to her, Ukraine has done a lot, but there is still a lot to be done.Bloomberg: Ukraine has put forward conditions for obtaining the status of an EU candidateAccording to European media reports, the European Commission may present a positive opinion for Ukraine, but with reservations. “It is impossible to tell Ukrainians that they meet all the requirements,” writes the Belgian Le Soir, citing a high-ranking European official. According to him, Ukraine did not correspond to the status of a candidate even before the start of the conflict. According to the publication, the European Commission can «show creativity» and offer Ukraine and Moldova a «conditional or preliminary» candidate status, given the political component of the issue.
The Czech Republic will constantly remind about Ukraine in the EU, the country's foreign minister said. Also, a number of EU leaders are not ready to support the granting of «unconditional candidate status» to Ukraine and Moldova. At the same time, such a decision is made only unanimously. On February 28, Volodymyr Zelensky signed an application for Ukraine's accession to the European Union. Moldovan President Maia Sandu signed such a document on March 3. Georgian authorities originally planned to apply in 2024, but Tbilisi decided to speed up the process. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili signed an application for granting the country candidate status for EU accession also on March 3. The leaders of the factions of the European Parliament last week called on the participants of the EU summit on June 23-24 to grant the status of a candidate country to Ukraine and Moldova, as well as to continue work on such a status for Georgia.
Ukraine revealed how Scholz acts against Kyiv with proxy
