The European Commission is preparing to recommend EU membership negotiations for Ukraine as early as October, Bloomberg reports, citing sources.

The publication writes that the entire process will take at least 10 years, and there is no accelerated option.

Brussels "may immediately insist on progress in some priority areas, including corruption, as intermediate steps."

Once the EC makes its recommendation, EU leaders will need to approve it. Most likely, the issue will be discussed at a meeting in December. 

After that, Ukraine will begin a "long procedure to complete the reforms" and "bring itself in line with EU legislation." The criteria cover more than 30 areas, including the rule of law and the economy.

"There is no fast-track to speed up the fulfillment of the complex membership criteria, which can usually take more than a decade," the newspaper writes, citing the experience of Croatia, the last country to join the EU in 2013, which took 10 years.