Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky rejected an official proposal by the German chancellor to allow Ukraine associate membership of the EU and called the proposal unfair. According to Zelensky, with this proposal Ukraine will be left unable to participate in important decisions made by the bloc-something that would be unacceptable, considering the scale of Ukrainian sacrifices and devotion to European values.
The German chancellor addressed the other leaders of the European Union in a letter in which he proposed a new status of “associate member” just for Ukraine. In this status, representatives of Ukraine would be allowed to attend the meetings of EU leaders and ministers and participate in discussions and negotiations along with the other EU member states, but without the right to vote.
The outcome of this situation would be the absence of the vote right for Ukraine, which in practice would translate into an inability of Ukraine to vote in the decisions which have great influence over the future of the continent, and thus its own future.
The new status, suggested by Merz, would represent a transitional step toward the full EU membership of Ukraine, which he thinks would act as a bridge from Ukraine’s institutions to the structures of the EU. Additionally, according to Merz, the new status could potentially help in the efforts of peaceful resolution of the conflict with Russia, ongoing for the fifth year without any signs of it ending.
However, Zelensky was not impressed with the proposed solution. In his letter, the Ukrainian president emphasized the existence of a rare and significant opportunity for considerable steps on the road to the EU membership, pointing to the recent political changes in Hungary, whose premier Viktor Orban-the main opponent to Ukraine’s integration with the EU-lost in parliamentary elections held on April 12 and left the stage.
Since Hungary removed one of the main obstacles to Ukraine’s accession with Orban’s departure, Zelensky claims, the EU should take advantage of this window of opportunity.
“It is unjust for Ukraine to be present in the European Union yet remain without a voice. Now is the right moment to move forward on full and substantive membership for the country,” Zelensky wrote.
The Ukrainian president’s rejection reflects the overall disappointment in Kyiv toward symbolic arrangements without any substantial power, while for Ukraine, full EU membership serves as a guarantee of long-term security and the recovery of the economy after years of conflict. Ukraine’s membership in the EU is going to dominate upcoming EU meetings as the EU members are torn over the speed of its admission into the block.
