France, Germany, Italy, Romania back ‘immediate’ EU candidate status for Ukraine: Macron

France, Germany, Italy and Romania are all in favour of Ukraine receiving “immediate” official candidate status to join the European Union, French President Emmanuel Macron said in Kyiv Thursday.

“All four of us support the status of immediate candidate for accession,” he said at a joint press conference with Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian premier Mario Draghi and Romanian leader Klaus Iohannis who all arrived by train in the Ukrainian capital earlier on Thursday.

Since Russia invaded on February 24, President Volodymyr Zelensky has been pushing for Ukraine’s rapid admission into the EU and he has demanded an answer on its candidacy before the end of this month.

Although many key European nations view such aspirations as favourable, they have warned that membership could take years or even decades.

And should they approve Ukraine’s candidate status it is expected to be subject to strict conditions.

“This status will be accompanied by a roadmap and will also involve taking into account the situation in the Balkans and the neighbouring area, notably Moldova,” said Macron

France holds the rotating presidency of the EU until the end of this month.

On June 11, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said the commission would give a clear signal this week on Ukraine’s bid to become a candidate on a surprise visit to Kyiv.