Brussels set to endorse Ukraine as a candidate for EU membership
Brussels is on Friday expected to recommend that Ukraine become a candidate for EU membership.
Decisions on Moldova and Georgia are also set to be announced.
If the European Commission favours granting candidate status to any of the trio, leaders of EU countries will then have the final say at a summit in Brussels on 23-24 June.
It comes a day after leaders of the bloc's three biggest member states — France, Germany and Italy — made their long-awaited first trip to Kyiv and clearly stated their backing for Ukraine's bid.
France's Emmanuel Macron insisted that it would provide "a strong, quick, expected gesture of hope and clarity that we want to send to Ukraine and its people" while Germany's Olaf Scholz stated that "Ukraine belongs to the European family".
They stressed, however, that there would be conditions and that the war-torn country would not get preferential treatment over other counties that have been in negotiations to join the 27-country bloc for years.
Any country that wishes to join the EU must fulfil what is known as the "Copenhagen criteria" for a functioning market economy, a stable democracy and the rule of law, and the acceptance of all EU legislation, including of the euro. These usually require the candidate country to undertake a series of reforms.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow said was partly motivated by the West seemingly encroaching on what it says is its sphere of influence, has backfired by leading to a flurry of countries looking to join the EU and the NATO military alliance.
Ukraine announced its wish to join the EU just four days after Russia launched its attack on 24 February. Kyiv filled out all the necessary and lengthy paperwork in a single month after receiving it on April 8
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