Green light – EU recommends candidate status for Ukraine

Based on the recommendation of the EU Commission, EU countries must now decide how to proceed. Governments’ positions on this issue have so far diverged widely. According to diplomats, countries such as Portugal and the Netherlands consider granting candidate status to the three states in Eastern Europe premature and purely symbolic.

On the other hand, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke in Kiev on Thursday for Ukraine’s accession to candidate country. Germany and France state that candidate status does not prejudge the admission decision, nor is it linked to a time frame. Turkey has been a candidate for accession since 1999.

Austria sets conditions
Austria will only agree to Ukraine’s candidate status to the EU under certain conditions. “We need to ensure that the same standards are applied as for other Western Balkan candidate countries. Against this background, it would be unthinkable for me to grant Ukraine candidate status while keeping countries like Bosnia and Herzegovina on the sidelines,” Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) told krone.at

Bosnia and Herzegovina had already applied for membership in early 2016 and has only been considered a “potential candidate for membership” for many years. A recommendation from the European Commission to grant Ukraine candidate status is expected today. The decision of the heads of state or government must be unanimous.