Merz proposes special status for Ukraine in the EU prior to full membership, - media
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is reportedly proposing to grant Ukraine the status of an ‘associate member’ of the EU pending full membership.
According to Censor.NET, Spiegelreports this, citing its own sources.
It is noted that Merz has put forward an initiative to introduce a temporary "associate membership" format for Ukraine within the European Union. According to his plan, this could partially address Kyiv’s request for faster European integration against the backdrop of the protracted process of full membership.
The new status would entail enhanced integration and elements of security guarantees
The special status of "associated member", which he proposes for Ukraine as a temporary solution, envisages granting Kyiv greater rights and obligations than candidates typically receive in the standard accession process. These include, in particular:
- participation and voting rights at meetings of the Council of the EU and the European Council, as well as non-voting participation in the work of the European Commission and the European Parliament;
- gradual integration into the EU budget;
- extension to Ukraine of Article 42.7 of the EU Treaties on mutual assistance and defence – which will provide certain security guarantees for Ukraine and reflects its request;
- special participation in the Court of Justice of the EU, with the position of Assistant Rapporteur.
Merz believes that granting Ukraine such special status should also facilitate the negotiation process initiated by the US – as it involves the application of the European mutual assistance clause to Ukraine.
At the same time, the Chancellor recommends retaining a mechanism to curtail these rights should Ukraine’s path towards European integration begin to reverse and its policies start to diverge from the EU’s fundamental values.
He proposes offering the Western Balkans and Moldova not identical, but separate plans for accelerated integration into the European Union.
What preceded this?
French Minister Delegate for European Affairs Benjamin Addad had previously also suggested that the EU might offer Ukraine an interim status, which would allow for a gradual rapprochement with European policies and institutions.
