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European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday said the bloc’s foreign ministers were meeting in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, to discuss the country’s plans for membership.
Borrell said the meeting was intended as a show of support for the country amid Russia’s full-scale war of aggression.
“We are convening a historic meeting of EU Foreign Ministers here in Ukraine, candidate country and future member of the EU. We are here to express our solidarity and support to the Ukrainian people,” he tweeted.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Monday welcomed the event.
“This a historic event because for the first time ever the foreign affairs council is going to sit down outside of its current borders — outside the borders of the European Union — but within future borders of the European Union,” he told reporters.
The EU granted Ukraine candidate status alongside Moldova last year. Six other countries currently have official EU candidate status — Turkey, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
Two others, Georgia and Kosovo, are potential candidate countries.
The challenges of such wide expansion were discussed by governments on Thursday, with significant changes to the bloc’s decision-making, agriculture, and regional aid budgets expected ahead of further growth.
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