Several Western European Union countries are against granting Ukraine so-called candidate status this week, the first step on its long road to EU membership.

Some EU countries are resisting advancing Ukraine's application for membership, Bloomberg reported.

Germany, the Netherlands and other countries first want the European Commission to give its opinion on Ukraine's readiness for the membership process before making a political decision, diplomats said, describing private discussions ahead of a summit in France this week.

Those countries want to focus on delivering practical support to Ukraine and ending the war rather than embarking on a process that could take at least a decade, one of the diplomats said.