Friedrich Merz is pushing for Ukraine to be inside inside the EU without ‘further delays’
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called on EU leaders to discuss a new additional membership status for Ukraine to maintain momentum until it’s a full members of the bloc.
Ukraine has been a candidate country since 2022, but further progress on EU accession has been blocked for almost a year.
The letter notes that “the enlargement process takes much too long” and that “understandably, this creates frustration.”
“I am convinced that we need a new dynamic for Ukraine as well as for the Western Balkans and Moldova,” Merz says in the letter.
Regarding Ukraine, the German Chancellor is clear that it should become a “full member” of the EU, and also reiterates the German position that all six enlargement clusters “should, immediately, and without delay, formally open.”
The German Chancellor also says the EU should stand firm in its promise that the Western Balkans countries and Moldova can join the bloc..
“I suggest that we look into innovative solutions also for those candidate countries which have been preparing for their accession already for a long time now,” he said.
He proposes privileged access to the Internal Market and closer ties with the European institutions in the daily decision-making process.
“All this could bring candidate countries significantly closer to us and thus spark a new ambition for further reforms needed to achieve full membership”, Merz wrote.
