[Boudica]

Ukraine's application to join the EU was made a mere 5 days after the Russian invasion, in February 2022. To clarify: This is not a military alliance, but one of trade, laws and currency. Putin has advised he has nothing against the Ukraine joining the EU, though there are concerns over a discussion about the EU forming a military force.

For those of you unfamiliar, this is the EU (meaning European Union, & not to be confused with Europe, the continent)

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What is the EU?
The European Union is an economic and political union between 27 European countries, which was created in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Goods, services and money move freely between member states. EU citizens can live and work anywhere within the bloc.
It operates a single European currency, the euro, which is used by more than 340 million people in 19 of the EU's 27 countries.
Common standards apply across member states in a number of areas including food safety, farming and employment rights.
The EU also gives grants to Europe's poorer regions to help strengthen their economies.

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How do countries join the EU?
Firstly, the European Commission, the EU's civil service, assesses whether a country is a suitable candidate.
It considers whether it has a stable, democratic government, respects human rights, and has a free market economy.
All existing EU members have to agree before a new country can become a candidate.
If successful, the country has to adopt all the EU's laws and regulations. This normally takes several years.
Finally, the country signs an accession treaty which all the other EU countries have to ratify.

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All in all, the process of being accepted could take over a decade, and could be delayed by any EU recommendations for reforms the Ukraine would have to make prior to acceptance.

However, the Ukraine does have existing trade agreements with the EU where they do not have to pay tariffs, under an "association agreement" within the EUs Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA).
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