EU's von der Leyen tells Zelenskiy opinion on membership ready next week

President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission told President Volodymyr Zeleskiy that the EU executive's decision on Ukraine's request for membership would be available by the end of this week.

Von der Leyen stated that Saturday's (11 June) talks with Zelenskiy would allow them to "finalize our assessment by next week" about Ukraine's eligibility to become a member.

This move, which was widely anticipated, would only be the first step in a long-term process.

All 27 EU countries would need to agree to Ukraine's candidate status. After that, there would be intensive talks about the reforms needed before Kyiv could consider joining.

Zelenskiy was reminded by Von der Leyen on her second visit to Kyiv following the February start of war.

She stated that although you have made a lot of progress in strengthening the rule law, reforms are still needed to combat corruption.

Zelenskiy stated the same thing at the briefing: "All Europe is a target of Russia, and Ukraine just the beginning stage in this aggression."

"This is why a positive EU reaction to Ukraine's application for membership could be a positive answer on the question of whether or not the European project has any future."