Ukraine has already earned at least the status of an EU candidate country, the leaders of eight European states are sure
Eight leaders of the EU countries made a collective appeal to other European states, in which they supported the acceleration of the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU. They propose to immediately grant the country the status of a candidate country for joining the European Union.
The appeal was signed by the leaders of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The open letter was published on the website of the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda.
“We, the presidents of the member states of the European Union … are firmly convinced that Ukraine deserves the immediate prospect of joining the EU. Therefore, we call on the EU Member States to secure support for Ukraine at the highest political level and enable EU structures to take steps to immediately grant Ukraine the status of an EU candidate country and start the negotiation process,— says the statement.
The authors of the letter stated that “at a critical moment” express their full solidarity with Ukraine and its people.
In 2014, Ukraine and the European Union signed an Association Agreement. The conflict over the signing of this document became one of the reasons for the Euromaidan, which resulted in the overthrow of the country's President Viktor Yanukovych. In 2019, then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced the country's plans to apply for EU membership in 2024. During Poroshenko's rule, Ukraine's desire to join the European Union and NATO was officially enshrined in the country's Constitution. However, Vladimir Zelensky has already sent an application for EU membership— he did so on February 28, the fourth day after the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
On February 24, Vladimir Putin announced the start of a military operation in Ukraine, explaining his decision as “self-defense”; Russia, as well as the “demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.” Kyiv assesses Russia's actions as a war. Martial law was introduced in the country and mobilization was announced.