European Council decides on Ukraine's EU candidacy 4:16
(CNN) --
Ukraine's long-term goal of joining the European Union received a boost after the bloc's 27 member states agreed Thursday that the country should receive candidate status, a major step in the road to full accession.
"Today a crucial step has been taken on the road to the European Union," European Council President Charles Michel said on Twitter after talks in Brussels.
The leaders also agreed to approve Moldova's bid.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he "sincerely praised" the European Council's decision, calling it a "unique and historic moment in relations between the European Union and Ukraine."
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The decision, taken at a summit of the Council of the European Union, comes a week after European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen said the bloc's executive body believed Ukraine deserved candidate status because " has clearly demonstrated the country's aspiration and determination to live up to European values and standards."
However, it will likely be years before Ukraine can join the EU.
The process is long and requires the agreement of the 27 Member States at almost every stage.
This means that there are multiple opportunities for member states to use their veto as a political bargaining chip.
Before Ukraine can begin negotiations to join the bloc, it must meet the Copenhagen criteria, an opaque trio of requirements that focus on whether a country has a functioning free-market economy;
whether its institutions are adequate to uphold European values such as human rights and the European Union's interpretation of the rule of law;
and if you have an inclusive democracy that works.
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(From left to right) The Prime Minister of Italy, Mario Draghi;
the chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz;
the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky;
French President Emmanuel Macron and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis meet for a working session at the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv on June 16, 2022. It is the first time that the leaders of the three countries from the European Union have been visiting Kyiv since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
They are scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a time when Kyiv is pushing for accession to the European Union.
Ukraine is unlikely to be able to meet these criteria while the country is at war, however, von der Leyen acknowledged that he had started making progress towards them long before the invasion.
Once these criteria are met and all member states have agreed to start talks on the 35 negotiating chapters, ranging from trade to law and civil society, Ukraine will need to carry out internal reforms to meet the required standards. in each of these areas.
Again, all Member States must agree that these requirements have been met before each chapter is closed.
Once this is done, the European Parliament and the legislative agendas must approve the decision and, finally, Ukraine will be a Member State of the European Union.
The average time it takes for a country to join the European Union is four years and ten months, according to the think tank UK in a Changing Europe.
However, some Eastern European Member States have had to wait up to 10 years.
In addition to a long and complicated process, there are political considerations that could frustrate Ukraine's European dream.
Not all member states are enthusiastic about the prospect of Ukraine joining the bloc.
So it is likely that at each stage one or more will be tempted to barricade themselves for a concession on something else the European Union is debating, such as budget allocation.
France, Germany and Hungary have not been very strong in their support.
Only after a visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv did the leaders of France, Germany and Italy indicate that they would support Ukraine's candidate status.
Hungary has also dragged its feet, for various reasons, but above all because it is Russia's greatest ally in the European Union.
French President Emmanuel Macron, center, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi board a Kyiv-bound train after leaving Poland on Thursday. June 16, 2022. European leaders are expected to meet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as they prepare for a key summit of European Union leaders in Brussels next week and a NATO summit in Madrid on June 29 and 30.
Some European countries have also been criticized by Zelensky for not providing enough weaponry as Ukraine finds itself in the midst of a desperate battle to defend the Luhansk region in the east of the country.
The reasons for his doubts range from concerns about corruption to the bloc's shift in power from the west to the east if Ukraine is admitted.
He is also concerned about the part of the European Union budget that Ukraine could consume.
Although all Member States have supported the bid, there are still plenty of opportunities for leaders to stand in the coming years.
Ukraine's long road to the European Union has only just begun.
His status as a candidate may be a moral victory and send a strong message to Russia.
But the reality is that Ukraine must now, virtually single-handedly, carry out reforms that would already be difficult enough at best, let alone while under invasion by a foreign army.
War in Ukraine European Union
