Ursula von der Leyen says EU will decide on Ukraine membership next week

Bloc leader holds joint news conference with President Volodymyr Zelensky after making surprise Kyiv trip

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Kyiv. EPA

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, told Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a surprise visit to Kyiv that the EU executive's opinion on the country's request to join the European Union would be ready by the end of next week.

In a joint news conference, Ms von der Leyen said Saturday's discussions with Mr Zelenskyy "will enable us to finalise our assessment by the end of next week," about whether to recommend Ukraine as a candidate for membership.

The move, whose timing was widely expected, would only be a preliminary step in a long process.

All 27 EU governments would have to agree to grant Ukraine candidate status, after which there would be extensive talks on the reforms required before Kyiv could be considered for membership.

Ms Von der Leyen, in her second trip to Kyiv since the start of the war in February, reminded Mr Zelenskyy that, despite progress on administrative reforms and elsewhere, much still needed to be done.

"You have done a lot in strengthening the rule of law but there is still need for reforms to be implemented, to fight corruption for example," she told the conference.

Mr Zelenskyy told the same briefing: "All of Europe is a target for Russia, and Ukraine is just the first stage in this aggression.

"This is why a positive EU response to the Ukrainian application for membership can be a positive answer to the question of whether the European project has a future at all."

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