EU ambassadors to call for 'initial assessment' of membership for Ukraine
In a "mostly symbolic" decision, European Union ambassadors on Tuesday agreed to "call for an initial assessment of Ukraine's chances of joining the 27-nation bloc," Bloomberg reports.
The ambassadors will now report back to the European Commission to further identify the possibility of Ukrainian membership. According to officials with knowlege of the matter, "EU leaders are expected to discuss Ukraine's prospects at a summit in Paris on March 10-11," Bloomberg writes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had initially put in a formal membership bid on Monday.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Even with the move in Ukraine's favor, the road ahead remains long. In fact, the process of accepting a new member can last for over a decade, Bloomberg notes. The EU could agree to speed things up, given the dire situation in Kyiv, but there is still apparently "little chance" of the country rapidly securing so-called accession, Bloomberg writes, per an official.
Already, however, Ukraine has "received strong support from some member states," Bloomberg notes. The leaders of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia, for example, in a letter called for the EU to open an immediate accession path for Ukraine.
Now that the ambassadors have called for an assessment, "it will be up to the commission to determine if [Ukraine] is ready to start the accession process," Bloomberg explains. Afterward, EU member states will make the final call on whether or not to move forward, once presented with the commission's findings.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
The Onion is having a very ironic laugh with Infowars
The Explainer The satirical newspaper is purchasing the controversial website out of bankruptcy
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'Rahmbo, back from Japan, will be looking for a job? Really?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What's next for electric vehicles under Trump?
Today's Big Question And what does that mean for Tesla's Elon Musk?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine-Russia: are both sides readying for nuclear war?
Today's Big Question Putin changes doctrine to lower threshold for atomic weapons after Ukraine strikes with Western missiles
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What happens if Russia declares war on Nato?
Today's Big Question Fears are growing after Vladimir Putin's 'unusually specific warning' to Western governments
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Are Ukraine's F-16 fighter jets too little too late?
Today's Big Question US-made aircraft are 'significant improvement' on Soviet-era weaponry but long delay and lack of trained pilots could undo advantage against Russia
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Ukraine's stolen children
Under the Radar Officially 20,000 children have been detained since Russia's invasion in 2022, but the true number is likely to be far higher
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
A brief timeline of Russia's war in Ukraine
In Depth How the Kremlin's plan for a quick conquest turned into a quagmire
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why is Ukraine backing far-right militias in Russia?
Today's Big Question The role of the fighters is a 'double-edged sword' for Kyiv, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
What does victory now look like for Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Not losing is as important as winning as the tide turns in Russia's favour again
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
British warship repels 'largest Houthi attack to date' in the Red Sea
Speed read Western allies warn of military response to Iranian-backed Yemeni rebels if attacks on ships continue
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published