On Friday the European Commission—the executive body of the European Union—threw its support behind Ukraine’s bid to become an EU member state. “We recommend to give Ukraine the candidate status, on the understanding that the country will carry out a number of important reforms,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted. “Ukraine has clearly shown commitment to live up to European values and standards. And embarked, before the war, on its way towards the EU.” The EC also backed Moldova’s bid for membership, but stopped short of granting the same support to the former Soviet republic of Georgia. Kyiv will have to implement anti-corruption and other judicial reforms in order to ultimately join the federal bloc, and full-fledged membership may still be years away.