Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission (EC), on Thursday told Ukraine that membership to the European Union (EU) was “within reach” but added that “hard work” would be required by Kyiv to make it a reality.

Speaking to the Ukrainian parliament and President Volodymyr Zelensky virtually, von der Leyen said, “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.”

“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,” the EC President assured.

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Von der Leyen went on to praise Ukraine for its commitment to “preventing and combating corruption” since the Euro-Maidan Revolution of 2014.

“You have created an impressive anti-corruption machine,” the 63-year-old acknowledged, adding, “But now these institutions need teeth, and the right people in senior posts.”

“The next steps are within your reach. But they will require hard work,” von der Leyen concluded.

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The EC President’s comments come a week after Ukraine was granted EU candidate status, a historic move that opened up the possibility of the war-torn country joining the bloc.

However, even then, the EU had said that there was no fast-track to membership, and that admission to the bloc “remains a merit-based and structured process which requires the fulfilment of the EU membership criteria and is dependent on the effective implementation of reforms.”

Zelensky, for his, part, had hailed the decision to grant Ukraine candidate status, saying, “This is like going into the light from the darkness.” The actor-turned-politician had also promised that Ukraine was “building a European state which will be part of the EU,” and claimed that the country had already prepared “prepared a lot of draft laws, a lot of reforms.”