Your trusted source

The European Commission plans to recommend that Ukraine and Moldova be granted candidate status in a symbolic step forward in the lengthy process to become members of the European Union, Bloomberg reports.

The EU’s executive arm is set to issue its opinion on Friday and will impose conditions that the countries will have to meet in the future on the rule of law, justice and anti-corruption, according to people familiar with the matter. The commission is also expected to recommend granting candidate status to Georgia once it meets specific conditions.

The final decision to grant the status will have to be approved by all 27 member states. The membership procedure itself is a process that includes an arduous set of steps and conditions that can normally last more than a decade. Croatia was the last country to join the bloc and its application process lasted 10 years before it was formally accepted in 2013.

The bloc’s leaders are set to discuss the matter in Brussels on June 23-24. Backing by member states is not a done deal as some governments, including Denmark and the Netherlands, have previously expressed reservations to granting the status. But with the bloc’s biggest members now on board, it will be difficult for others to block the decision.