The European Commission has recommended that Ukraine be given European Union candidate status, a historic shift brought about by Russia's offensive in the country. Kyiv will now have to continue with major reforms in order to become part of the 27-member bloc.

Wearing the colors of the Ukrainian flag, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the EU's executive branch, announced the decision.

"The Commission recommends to the Council, first that Ukraine is given a European perspective and second that Ukraine is given candidate status," Von der Leyen said. "This is, of course, on the understanding that the country will carry out a number of further important reforms."

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The move represents a potentially historic shift in European politics. But questions remain as to how strong the appetite is among EU member states for expanding the bloc. Ukraine's membership bid got a boost when the leaders of France, Italy and Germany - the biggest EU economies - visited Kyiv on Thursday to express their support.

The EU commission president praised Kyiv's efforts at reform in recent years but said the decision would ultimately be merit-based, citing areas like tackling corruption and guaranteeing the rule of law, where Ukraine needs to make progress.

Von der Leyen acknowledged that some reforms would be difficult at the moment due to the ongoing conflict. There is no fixed timetable for the EU accession process, which can take more than a decade or may never happen at all.

The commission also recommended candidate status for Moldova, which like Ukraine, applied to join the EU shortly after Russia started its military campaign in Ukraine in February.

"In the recent past, Moldova has taken a decisive step towards reforms with a clear mandate from its citizens," said Von der Leyen. "It is on a real pro-reform, anti-corruption and European path for the first time since independence. 

"Of course, Moldova still has a long way to go. Its economy and public administration in particular require major improvements, but provided that the country's leaders stay on course, we believe that the country has the potential to live up to the requirements."

However, for now, the commission did not recommend candidate status for Georgia. The candidacies still require the approval of all 27 EU nations, who will convene in Brussels next week for a leaders summit.

Who can join?

The Treaty on the European Union states that any European country may apply for membership if it respects the democratic values of the EU and is committed to promoting them. The "Copenhagen Criteria," agreed in 1993, specifies that EU countries need to have:

• stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities.

• a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competition and market forces in the EU.

• the ability to take on and implement effectively the obligations of membership, including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union.

Membership requires the approval of all EU member states through the European Council.

What does being a candidate country mean?

After a country is granted candidate status by EU member states, the candidate country submits its position on the various requirements for membership and the EU adopts a common position before formal negotiations begin. 

These negotiations take place in inter-governmental conferences between member states and the candidate country. They relate to the conditions under which the country will be admitted to the EU and focus on the adoption and implementation of the EU's body of law. 

There is no fixed timescale for how long this will take. Currently, Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey are negotiating their EU membership.

What does the process for obtaining full membership involve?

All EU member states have to sign off on the candidate country's progress in the different policy areas required for EU membership. Following this, the candidate country and the EU countries and institutions sign and ratify the accession treaty. 

At this point, the candidate country becomes an acceding country and is granted certain privileges. Then, on the date specified in the accession treaty, the acceding country becomes a full-fledged EU member.