The European Commission can support giving Ukraine the status of a candidate for joining the European Union, writes Forbes, citing Bloomberg.

Gaining such a status is a key step for Kyiv on its path to EU membership.

However, even if the European Commission approves granting the country this status, its decision must still be supported by all EU countries.

The European Commission is expected to make its decision on June 17, Bloomberg sources said.

The leaders of the Union are going to discuss this issue in Brussels on June 23-24.

According to the agency, a number of countries opposed this step, in their opinion, it is wrong to prefer Ukraine over other candidates.

The process of joining the EU includes a number of steps and conditions, which may take more than 10 years to implement, the agency reminds.

The Netherlands, in particular, opposed granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership, the agency's sources said.

But most countries support the European Commission's position: Poland, Lithuania and Ireland at a meeting of EU ambassadors asked EU leaders to give Ukraine candidate status as soon as possible, the agency said.

Germany believes that the disputes can only result in the conditional status of the candidate.

In a diplomatic note, Denmark said Ukraine did not meet the criteria for stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights, respect for and protection of minorities.

In late February, after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, its President

called on the European Union to accept Ukraine into its ranks.

"Our goal is to be with all Europeans, and most importantly - to be equal," he said.

In the spring, Zelensky submitted an application to the EU Delegation to Ukraine for EU candidate status.

On June 8, the European Parliament called on Kyiv to be granted EU candidate status, noting that it would be a political sign of solidarity with the Ukrainian people.