Report: Western European Countries Oppose Ukraine's Candidacy for EU Membership

A number of Western European countries are opposed to granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for European Union (EU) membership this week, in the first step on a long road to membership, the American "Bloomberg" news network reported, quoting diplomatic sources.

The sources - whose identities were not revealed by the network - said that Germany, the Netherlands, and other countries first want the European Commission (the executive arm of the Union) to present its opinion on Ukraine's readiness for the nomination process for membership.

One of the sources explained that these countries want to focus on providing practical support to Ukraine and ending the war between it and Russia rather than embarking on a process that may take ten years.

But the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, confirmed that the European Union will discuss Ukraine's request for membership in the coming days.

The leaders of the EU are scheduled to discuss the request during their meeting in France, which begins next Thursday and runs for two days.