Poland and Slovakia plan to work together to persuade those bloc countries that are currently hesitant to grant EU candidate status to Ukraine, stated Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová and Polish President Andrzej Duda. “This is important for the future and peace in Europe. But, of course, it does not automatically mean full membership. Of course, this will require a great deal of effort. But we believe that granting candidate status is a natural gesture in the difficult situation in which Ukraine now finds itself,” said Caputova. Andrzej Duda added that Ukrainians are now defending not only their country but also their closest neighbors from the Russian aggressor.