EU leaders grant Ukraine candidate status in blow to Putin
, when the pro-Kremlin president, Viktor Yanukovych, was ousted after he refused to sign an association agreement with the bloc. But before the war, EU membership was off the table for the country of 41 million people that is plagued by corruption.
“Just a few months ago I was really sceptical that we would reach this position here where Ukraine gets candidate status,” said Estonia’s prime minister, Kaja Kallas, a long-term supporter of Kyiv’s membership hopes. EU capitals also know membership talks will take many years. The process can go into reverse, if a future Kyiv government fails to implement reforms on the rule of law and aligning its economy to EU standards.
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