Merz proposed granting Ukraine associated membership in the EU as a stage before accession. What will this bring

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has proposed granting Ukraine a new status of associate member of the EU, which would allow Kyiv to participate in the work of European structures without the right to vote.

Reuters writes about this.

Merz outlined his initiative in a letter to EU leaders. According to his plan, Ukrainian officials would be able to participate in EU summits and ministerial meetings, but would not vote.

The Chancellor also suggested that EU countries apply the mutual assistance clause to Ukraine to create additional security guarantees. Merz said that such an initiative could help peace talks to end the war.

In addition, the Chancellor proposed creating a mechanism that would allow for the suspension of such status if Ukraine fails to meet the standards of the rule of law or falls behind in the reform process.

The European Commission calls for discussion of the idea

Later, the European Commission confirmed to journalists that it had received a letter with Merzʼs proposal. It calls for promoting this idea in the European Council, that is, at the level of the heads of EU member states. Ukraineʼs accession is called fundamentally related to the security of the Union, and enlargement is called a geostrategic investment in prosperity, peace, and security.

However, any innovative solutions must be based on merit. It is therefore necessary to ensure that the approach to enlargement – both towards Ukraine and other candidates – is fit for purpose.

Ukraineʼs accession to the EU

Ukraine intensified cooperation with the EU in 2014 after the victory of the Revolution of Dignity. In the same year, the Verkhovna Rada and the European Parliament simultaneously approved the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU.

It entered into full force on September 1, 2017. Ukraineʼs path to membership in the European Union and NATO was enshrined in the Constitution in February 2019.

On February 28, 2022, Ukraine applied for membership in the European Union. On June 17, the European Commission recommended granting Ukraine candidate status for EU membership and set out a number of conditions that the country must meet before starting negotiations on accession to the European Union. On June 23, EU leaders gathered in Brussels for a summit, where they granted Ukraine candidate status.

The European Union allowed negotiations to begin at the end of 2023. They were formally launched in 2024, but the process slowed down, in particular due to the position of then-Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who blocked the opening of negotiation chapters.

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