FT: Germany and France oppose accelerated EU membership for Ukraine. Instead, they offer “symbolic” benefits

Germany and France oppose the idea of fast-tracking Ukraineʼs membership in the European Union. Instead, they have called for Ukraine to be given "symbolic" benefits in preparation for accession, which would exclude agricultural subsidies and voting rights.

This is reported by the Financial Times, citing sources and documents reviewed by journalists.

The German and French proposals are set out in two separate documents. Two senior European Commission officials said the overall content of the documents was “likely” to be close to the EU’s final proposal for Ukraine.

Germany insists on the status of “associated membership”. Under it, Ukraine would participate in meetings of ministers (of the EU Council) and heads of state (of the European Council), but would not have the right to vote and would not have the “automatic extension of the action” of the common EU budget to it. This proposal states that the new status would have “symbolic force through the name” and could be granted by a political decision of EU leaders, which would avoid “lengthy procedures”.

France calls this interim membership “integrated state status”. Under it, access to the common agricultural policy and European funding, such as cohesion policy, would be delayed until after full membership. France also demands a referendum before each new EU member joins. Some leaders fear that such a debate is heating up ahead of next year’s French presidential election, as far-right leaders could exploit the fears of French farmers.

However, the simplified membership option would include the EUʼs mutual defense clause, which is seen as one of the key advantages for Ukraine, given that Ukraineʼs NATO membership is not being considered in the near future.

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Taras Kachka told the Financial Times: “We are in touch with [Paris and Berlin], as well as with other capitals — everything is developing. There are other documents as well”.

But another Ukrainian official said Ukraine was wary of any vague concept of membership, which is seen in Ukraine as a poor substitute for real membership. But he acknowledged that some elements could be useful, saying that in Ukraine it is called “shadow membership”.

• The Franco-German proposals came after EU member states almost unanimously rejected the European Commissionʼs proposal for a "reverse enlargement" for Ukraine. Under it, Ukraine would be able to gain full membership in 2027 without meeting all EU criteria, but without access to most of the associated benefits, such as voting rights or the Common Agricultural Policy.
• Ukraine would receive these benefits gradually, depending on the progress made in reforms. That is, Ukraine would first become a member and then carry out the necessary reforms.

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