The meeting started at 15.30 on Thursday and dragged on despite a broad consensus between the 27 member states.
but according to there was a broad consensus.
- There is a broad consensus that Europe wants to do this.
But it has taken time, partly because all the leaders want to say something about this historic - but also for the issue of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has been waiting for 20 years to become a candidate country that has now been bypassed by Ukraine, says SVT's European correspondent David Boati and adds that the EU countries chose to commission the Commission to review how well Bosnia and Herzegovina meets the criteria already set by the EU.
Long process awaits
But regardless of whether Ukraine and Moldova have now received candidate status, a long process is now expected to become members.
- It is not a matter of them being allowed to start negotiating membership directly, they must meet a number of criteria - economic reforms, democratic institutions, corruption and so on - before they can even start negotiating.
How long can a process like this take?
- It can take a very long time - Macron has mentioned that it is at least a decade before Ukraine is fully EU member.
And countries like Serbia and Montenegro have had candidate status for over ten years, where not much has happened in recent years - so it can take a very long time, says David Boati.
Hear David Boati in the clip above.