EU MAKES UKRAINE A MEMBERSHIP CANDIDATE
European leaders decided Thursday to make Ukraine a candidate for membership of the European Union, a historically important signaling that the country, while now in the throes of war and far from ready to join the bloc, ultimately belongs in it.
The step was seen as impossible mere weeks ago, not least because Ukraine is seen as too far behind in terms of corruption and economic overhauls to be able to join. But the decision to nonetheless give it the coveted candidate status, as a symbolically important gesture, was another leap for European nations that have been rapidly shedding preconceptions and qualms to back Ukraine in the face of Russia’s invasion, often at great cost to themselves.
“Agreement,” Charles Michel, president of the European Council, said on Twitter. “A historic moment. Today marks a crucial step on your path towards the EU.”
Candidacy in the European Union, which the 27 EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday also decided to grant to Moldova, is a milestone but little else. It signals that a nation is in position, if certain conditions are met, to begin a detailed, painstaking and possibly yearslong process of changes and negotiations with the bloc, with a view to eventually joining.
The EU began in 1952 as a free-trade bloc among a core six nations. It has grown through the years to not only include huge swaths of the European continent, but also to encompass policies far beyond trade and economics, although those remain its strongest and best-aligned types of joint work.
The war in Ukraine has forced the EU into foreign policy, defense and military alignment. Although no substitute for NATO, the bloc could in future years develop into more of a military union.
Meanwhile, the United States said Thursday it will send an additional $450 million in military aid to Ukraine, including some additional medium-range rocket systems, to help push back Russian progress in the war.
The latest package includes four High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, which will double the number they have now. All four were prepositioned in Europe, and training on those systems has already begun with the Ukrainian troops who will use them, said Marine Corps Lt. Col. Anton Semelroth, a Pentagon spokesman.
According to the Pentagon, the aid also includes 18 tactical vehicles that are used to tow howitzers, as well as coastal and riverine patrol boats, thousands of machine guns, grenade launchers and rounds of ammunition, and some other equipment and spare parts.