Ukraine made “great strides” but more hard work before EU accession – von der Leyen

Ukraine has made "great strides" to join the European Union since being granted candidate status in 2022, but full accession is a merit-based process and hard work lies ahead, the head of the bloc's executive said in her annual speech on Wednesday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addressed the European Parliament as the 27-nation bloc starts debating whether to grant Kyiv in December the next milestone on its way towards Western integration – a formal start of membership negotiations.