BRUSSELS (AP) - Ukraine's request to join the

European Union may advance Friday with a

recommendation from the EU's executive arm that the

war-torn country deserves to become a candidate for

membership in the 27-nation bloc.

The European Commission's endorsement, while only

a tentative step on a path that could take decades to

complete, would send a strong symbol of solidarity

with Ukraine and further test the EU's united front

against Russia amid the invasion of its neighbor.

Here is a look at what the commission's

announcement on making Ukraine an EU candidate

could mean for the region:

FINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE

Ukraine applied for EU accession less than a week

after Russia invaded the country and as the capital,

Kyiv, faced the threat of capture and the Ukrainian

government falling.

The urgency created by the war and Ukraine's request

for expedited consideration could upend the bloc's

go-slow approach to enlargement.

Giving Ukraine candidate status would challenge the

EU's normal playbook for adding members. The

leaders of EU member nations are expected to

consider the European Commission's recommendation

next week.

The leaders face a delicate balancing act: signaling to

Ukraine that the EU's door is ajar while reassuring

other aspiring members and some of the bloc's own

citizens that they aren't showing favoritism to Kyiv.

TO EXPAND OR NOT EXPAND?

The European Union was born in the 1950s to prevent

another war between Germany and France. The six

founding members were Belgium, France, Germany,

Italy, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Since then, the EU has steadily expanded while

espousing the idea that economic and political

integration among nations is the best way to promote

general prosperity and peace. This approach paved

the way for the creation of the euro currency in 1999

and for the addition in 2004 of 10 new member

countries, most from formerly communist Eastern

Europe.

The euro, which 11 countries initially adopted as their

official currency, highlighted the EU's capacity to

deepen economic and political integration among EU

nations. The "big bang" enlargement five years later

showcased the bloc's ability to widen its reach.

As the biggest military conflict in Europe since World

War Il unfolds on the bloc's eastern border, the EU is

grappling anew with enduring questions about its

ability to deepen and widen, the informal benchmarks

experts use to track the bloc's decades-long

evolution.

WHY IS THERE A LACK OF CONSENSUS?

The internal consensus underpinning such a dual-

track approach to the EU's progression had weakened

years before Russia invaded Ukraine.

The euro-area debt crisis that erupted in 2010, a wave

of mass migration in 2015 and the U.K's shock 2016

referendum decision to leave the EU all contributed to

EU skittishness toward expanding its ranks.

So, too, did the growth of euroskeptic political forces

in many member countries, including Germany, France

and Italy. Some EU nations have accused the

governments in Berlin, Paris and Rome of showing

insufficient political support for Ukraine.