President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Kyiv on Saturday, June 11, to negotiate on obtaining the status of a candidate for Ukraine's accession to the EU and discuss with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal the conditions for the provision of long-term assistance by the European Union to restore the country after wars.

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The European Commission is expected to publish its opinion on whether Ukraine will receive the status of an EU candidate next Friday, June 17.. A condition for a positive decision should be Kyiv's commitment to carry out certain reforms, in particular, in the areas of the rule of law and the fight against corruption..

The decision to grant the status of a candidate for EU membership to a third state must be unanimously approved by all countries that are members of the European Union. It is planned that this issue will be discussed at the EU summit on June 23-24.

At the moment, the EU member states, however, do not have unity on this issue.. Thus, on June 9, Bloomberg reported, citing sources, that Denmark and the Netherlands are against granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership.. In Copenhagen, in particular, they are not sure that Ukraine meets all the criteria related to the stability of institutions that guarantee democratic rule, the rule of law, respect for human rights and the protection of minorities, the agency explained..

Meanwhile, obtaining the status of a candidate country does not predetermine a positive decision on granting EU membership and is not associated with any specific time frame.. So, Turkey received this status back in 1999.. Ukraine applied for EU membership shortly after the start of the Russian invasion..