Rama: It is a good thing to give Ukraine the status of a candidate, I hope the Ukrainian people will not have big illusions

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said today that it is good for Ukraine to get the status of a candidate for membership in the European Union (EU), but he also advised Ukrainians not to "have any illusions" because the accession process will be very long.

"Northern Macedonia, if I'm not mistaken, has been a candidate for 17 years, and Albania for eight years, so Ukraine is welcome," Rama said after arriving in Brussels for a meeting with EU leaders.

"It is a good thing to give candidate status to Ukraine. But I hope that the Ukrainian people will not have big illusions," added Rama.

The European Commission has recommended that Ukraine be granted candidate status as the first step on the long road to EU membership.

The commission recommended that this status be granted to Moldova as well.

Ukraine applied for EU membership on February 28, four days after the beginning of the Russian aggression, and Moldova and Georgia did so on March 3. The European Commission assessed that Georgia should receive candidate status after fulfilling certain obligations.

The initiation of accession negotiations with a country requires the consent of all 27 EU member states, and the views of European leaders on this matter differ greatly.