Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticized a German proposal for Ukraine to have “associate” membership in the European Union, calling it “unfair” since it would prevent Ukraine from having a voice in the EU. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had suggested this idea to allow Ukraine to participate in EU meetings without voting, as a step towards full membership, in hopes of facilitating a peace deal to end the war caused by Russia’s invasion.
Zelenskiy sent a letter to EU leaders expressing that with the removal of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who opposed Ukraine’s EU membership, now is the time to advance Ukraine’s full membership. He reiterated that it would not be fair for Ukraine to be present in the EU without having a say. He acknowledged and thanked European leaders for their support during the ongoing war, emphasizing that Ukraine is defending Europe against Russian aggression and deserves equal rights within the EU.
Although EU officials suggest that full membership for Ukraine is not feasible in the short term, Zelenskiy believes a clear path toward EU membership could help him gain support for any peace settlement with Russia, especially if it does not return all Ukrainian territories or provide NATO membership. There are discussions about Ukraine opening talks on six areas of EU accession soon.
While acknowledging the ongoing war, Zelenskiy stated that Ukraine is making headway with reforms needed to meet EU standards. He understood that integration takes time but argued that past enlargements have shown that countries can start integrating without losing rights. Merz’s proposal also included security guarantees for Ukraine and discussed the possibility of a task force to refine the idea. However, some EU diplomats expressed caution about the practicality of creating a new “associate” member status, which may require changes to EU treaties, while others believed it could help expedite Ukraine’s membership process.
With information from Reuters
