European Union grants Ukraine candidate status

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
(Image credit: Volodymyr Tarasov/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

European Union leaders on Thursday unanimously agreed to put Ukraine on the path to EU membership, granting the country candidate status.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded by tweeting, "Ukraine's future is within the EU." The EU also gave candidate status to Moldova, a country that borders Ukraine.

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EU leaders say Ukraine has adopted roughly 70 percent of the EU's rules and standards, but "considerable efforts will be needed, especially in the fight against corruption and the establishment of an effective rule of law," Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said. "But I am convinced that it is precisely the [post-war] reconstruction of Ukraine that will provide opportunities to take important steps forward."

Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.