The European Commission has recommended Member States to grant EU candidate status to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, announced on Friday. Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, hailed the Commission’s decision, saying this is a “well-deserved step forward” for the citizens of the two states. “We will continue to actively support Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia in their efforts to become members of the European Union family”, Iohannis wrote on Friday on social media. On Thursday, during his visit to Kyiv, France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, said France, alongside Germany, Italy and Romania, supports the idea of “immediately” granting candidate status to Ukraine. In turn, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, described the visit of the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Romania as a historical moment. Ukraine enjoys the support of four strong European states, Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine is closer to the EU than ever. On the other hand, the spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, reacted to the Commission’s decision, accusing the EU of manipulating Ukraine with respect to EU accession.
