EU Backs Ukraine's Candidacy for Membership
2022-06-18
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1The European Union , or EU, gave its support Friday to Ukraine and its neighbor Moldova to become candidates to join the group.
2Ursula von der Leyen is the European Commission President.
3Wearing Ukrainian colors, she told reporters,
4"Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective. We want them to live with us the European dream."
5"It's the first step on the EU membership path that'll certainly bring our victory closer," Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter.
6The move was only the start of a process that could take many years.
7But it puts Ukraine on a path to meeting a goal that did not seem possible just a few months ago.
8Ukraine applied to join the EU just four days after Russian troops invaded in February.
9Four days later, so did Moldova and Georgia, two other small states from the old Soviet Union.
10The EU was born after World War II to avoid another conflict between Germany and France.
11The group has since expanded to become a 27-nation economic and political union.
12When Russian President Vladimir Putin began the invasion of Ukraine, one of his main goals was to stop the expansion of Western organizations, like the EU and the NATO military alliance.
13But the war has had the opposite effect.
14Finland and Sweden have asked to join NATO.
15The EU has now considered opening its doors to Ukraine and Moldova, but not Georgia.
16Von der Leyen said Georgia had a strong application but still must meet certain political requirements.
17The EU usually takes a slow approach to expansion.
18But the urgency of the war and Ukraine's request for a quick consideration could change that.
19Leaders of EU countries are expected to officially support the decision at a meeting next week.
20The leaders of the three biggest countries - Germany, France and Italy - had signaled their support on Thursday by visiting Kyiv.
21A group of EU countries including Poland wants full support for Ukraine.
22But others, like the Netherlands, want the group to be more careful.
23EU leaders want to support Ukraine's membership but do not want to show favoritism to the country.
24Joining the EU requires years of reform, in areas ranging from the judicial system and financial services to food safety.
25Ukraine's request to be considered quickly for membership represents a change in how the EU usually operates.
26Turkey, for example, applied for membership in 1987.
27It became a candidate in 1999 and had to wait until 2005 to start talks on its membership application.
28Talks between Turkey and the EU are now completely stopped because of disagreements between the two sides.
29Six nations in the Western Balkans also have faced long waits for their EU membership.
30Membership talks require approval from all 27 EU nations.
31If admitted, Ukraine would be the EU's largest country by size and its fifth most populous.
32I'm Dan Novak.
1The European Union , or EU, gave its support Friday to Ukraine and its neighbor Moldova to become candidates to join the group. 2Ursula von der Leyen is the European Commission President. Wearing Ukrainian colors, she told reporters, "Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective. We want them to live with us the European dream." 3"It's the first step on the EU membership path that'll certainly bring our victory closer," Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter. 4The move was only the start of a process that could take many years. But it puts Ukraine on a path to meeting a goal that did not seem possible just a few months ago. 5Ukraine applied to join the EU just four days after Russian troops invaded in February. Four days later, so did Moldova and Georgia, two other small states from the old Soviet Union. 6The EU was born after World War II to avoid another conflict between Germany and France. The group has since expanded to become a 27-nation economic and political union. 7When Russian President Vladimir Putin began the invasion of Ukraine, one of his main goals was to stop the expansion of Western organizations, like the EU and the NATO military alliance. 8But the war has had the opposite effect. 9Finland and Sweden have asked to join NATO. The EU has now considered opening its doors to Ukraine and Moldova, but not Georgia. Von der Leyen said Georgia had a strong application but still must meet certain political requirements. 10The EU usually takes a slow approach to expansion. But the urgency of the war and Ukraine's request for a quick consideration could change that. 11Leaders of EU countries are expected to officially support the decision at a meeting next week. The leaders of the three biggest countries - Germany, France and Italy - had signaled their support on Thursday by visiting Kyiv. 12A group of EU countries including Poland wants full support for Ukraine. But others, like the Netherlands, want the group to be more careful. EU leaders want to support Ukraine's membership but do not want to show favoritism to the country. 13Joining the EU requires years of reform, in areas ranging from the judicial system and financial services to food safety. Ukraine's request to be considered quickly for membership represents a change in how the EU usually operates. 14Turkey, for example, applied for membership in 1987. It became a candidate in 1999 and had to wait until 2005 to start talks on its membership application. Talks between Turkey and the EU are now completely stopped because of disagreements between the two sides. 15Six nations in the Western Balkans also have faced long waits for their EU membership. Membership talks require approval from all 27 EU nations. 16If admitted, Ukraine would be the EU's largest country by size and its fifth most populous. 17I'm Dan Novak. 18Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting from Reuters and The Associated Press. 19_________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21perspective - n. a way of thinking about and understanding something 22application - n. a formal and usually written request for something