European Union Leaders Set To Grant Ukraine Candidate Status

To be admitted, European leaders have pointed at the need for deep political and economic reforms in the country, which has a history of corruption.

European Union leaders on Thursday are set to make Ukraine a candidate for joining the 27-nation bloc, a first step in a long and unpredictable journey toward full membership that could take many years to navigate.

Making Ukraine a contender now seems to be a done deal after national leaders were initially divided on how quickly to embrace the war-torn country's request to become an EU member, which the Ukrainian government submitted only a few days after Russia invaded its neighbor on Feb. 24.

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