EU will likely grant Ukraine candidate status to join bloc, says Ursula von der Leyen

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been pushing for rapid admission, and says the decision will determine the future of Europe

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The EU executive will next week make a recommendation on whether Ukraine should be given candidate status to join the bloc, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has said.

Such a recommendation would be a preliminary step on a long road to full membership, and Ukraine would need the backing of all 27 EU governments before candidate status was given. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has been pushing for rapid admission into the EU to provide the country with more security since the Russian invasion.