The European Union's executive body is expected to propose tomorrow that Ukraine become a formal candidate for membership in the bloc, diplomats and officials say, in a significant political gesture toward the country as it resists an invasion by Russia.
However, for the 27 EU leaders, who should approve the recommendation of the European Commission at the summit on 23-24. June, it could be an unpleasant confrontation with the truth about the failure of the broader policy of expanding the bloc, assesses the Reuters agency.
EU candidate status, which Ukraine has been seeking since a 2014 revolution that ousted an unpopular pro-Russian president, would be a milestone on its journey from a former Soviet republic to a developed economy in the world's biggest trading bloc.
Candidate status is "the right solution from a moral, economic and security perspective", Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said yesterday in the presence of his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at a military base in Romania.
Macron, Iohannis, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi could visit Kyiv today.
"Before the war, you had a couple of Eastern European members who talked about the possibility of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia having a European path, but you had big players who were always categorically opposed," said one senior EU diplomat.
"That philosophy has now changed," said the diplomat.
However, as both Moldova and Georgia are likely to receive candidate status if they meet certain conditions, the June summit in Brussels will be a reminder that the EU countries cannot agree on whether to admit other official candidates to the bloc - Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey, writes Reuters.
The agency reports the assessments of five diplomats and officials that cementing Ukraine's candidacy risks unrealistic expectations for a country at war and suffering from endemic corruption.
They also said it was a divisive issue at a time when the bloc was striving for unity over economic sanctions against Russia. Eastern countries strongly support the idea of Ukraine getting the status of a candidate for EU membership, while France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and Portugal have counterarguments.
The disagreement is evident in diplomatic notes seen by Reuters.
Cementing Ukraine's candidacy risks unrealistic expectations for a country at war and suffering from endemic corruption
The Danish document states: "Ukraine does not yet sufficiently fulfill the criteria" of what is required for candidate status in terms of democracy, human rights, respect for minorities and the rule of law. The Lithuanian document says: "By defending their country, Ukrainians are defending European values, freedom and democracy."
A senior Ukrainian official told Reuters that Denmark and other countries have set conditions that Ukraine should meet, even though they are not legally binding EU standards.
The official said that a positive decision "would give a strong moral boost to the Ukrainian people. They really need that."
France, the Netherlands and Denmark also say that if the EU, which is already slow in making decisions, is not reformed, it will cease to function if it accepts new members.
Last month, Macron proposed a "European political community" that would create a new structure and enable closer cooperation with countries aspiring to EU membership. That initiative annoyed Ukraine and some Eastern and Baltic states, who saw it as an attempt to delay enlargement.
Ukrainian support for joining the EU rose to 91 percent in March, from 61 percent in December
France forwarded its proposal to EU members. French officials insist that it is not an alternative to membership, and Paris is lobbying Eastern and Baltic states regarding the idea, writes Reuters.
"The reality is that in the light of the war, all countries may need closer cooperation with the EU because now there are major problems that are bothering them," said one diplomat. Another warned of the risk of creating an EU waiting room for Ukraine.
Before the war, Ukraine was at the bottom of the "Transparency International" list for corruption - in 122nd place out of 180 countries. Ukrainian support for joining the EU rose to 91 percent in March, according to the Rating Group survey, from 61 percent in December.
Even if approved, the process to full membership takes years and can be vetoed by any member state. Croatia was the last to join the bloc and its accession process lasted 10 years, until formal admission in 2013.
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