On 28 February 2022, five days after Russia launched its unprovoked and unjustified aggression, Ukraine submitted its application for EU membership. On 17 June 2022, the Commission issued its opinion and recommended to the Council that Ukraine should be given the perspective to become a member of the EU and that the country be granted candidate status on the understanding that seven steps, mainly in the rule of law area, are taken.
On 23 June 2022, the European Council recognised the country’s European perspective and decided to grant Ukraine the status of candidate country. The European Council invited the Commission to report to the Council on the fulfilment of the seven steps as part of its regular enlargement package.
This report is the Commission’s first annual enlargement report on Ukraine replacing the previous annual Association Implementation Reports. To complement its opinion on the membership application, the Commission published the analytical report on the acquis alignment of Ukraine in February 2023.
