Ukraine now has a "very clear European perspective" but the road to EU membership will take time and require hard work, the president of the EU executive told the country's parliament on Friday.
EU leaders last week granted Ukraine candidate status to join the bloc, formally opening a process that is expected to take years before it becomes a member of the union that now comprises 27 countries.
"Ukraine now has a very clear European perspective. And Ukraine is a candidate country to join the European Union, something that seemed almost unimaginable just five months ago," she told lawmakers and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
"There is a long road ahead but Europe will be at your side every step of the way, for as long as it takes, from these dark days of war until the moment you cross the door that leads into our European Union," she said.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine must become an EU member state quickly.
"Our path to membership must not take decades," he said. "We must traverse this path as quickly as possible. This depends on us."