On Thursday, the European Parliament voted to approve both Ukraine and Moldova to EU candidate status.
The 27 member nations voted unanimously in favor. However, joining the bloc will probably require years with reforms to meet European standards.
EU Leaders have been unable to resolve a deadlock over Albania's and North Macedonia's pending membership applications.
The two nations were granted candidate status in 2005 and 2014 respectively.
"What has happened is a serious blow to the credibility (of) the European Union,"
- Dimitar Kovacevski, Prime Minister of North Macedonia
