Zelenskyy rejects 'associate member' status for Ukraine in EU, demands full voting rights

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that it would be unfair for Ukraine to be present within the European Union without voting rights. He said, "It would be unfair for Ukraine to be present within the European Union but without the right to vote. It is time to move towards full and active membership for Ukraine."

He added, "We are defending Europe fully, not partially or with incomplete measures. Ukraine deserves fair treatment and equal rights within Europe."

The German Chancellor had sent a letter to the leaders of EU member states and the heads of the European Commission and the European Council, proposing to grant Ukraine the status of "associate member," which would allow Kyiv representatives to participate in the work of all the bloc's main bodies – the European Commission, the European Council, the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, and the Court of Justice of the European Union – without possessing voting rights.

Mertz stressed that this status would not be a substitute for Ukraine's full accession to the European Union, but rather would contribute to advancing it, emphasizing that, unlike accession procedures to the EU, granting the country "associate member" status does not require the approval of the parliaments of the member states.

In contrast, some diplomats in Brussels reacted cautiously to Mertz's proposal, pointing out that the status of "associate member" does not exist in the EU system at all, and may require amendments to the bloc's treaties. Despite these reservations, the proposal was considered an attempt to find a middle ground between rapid accession and Ukraine's current status as a candidate country at the beginning of the membership path.

A majority of European officials agree that it is unrealistic for Ukraine to obtain full membership in the next few years, as actual accession requires the unanimous ratification of all member states' parliaments, a process that usually entails significant political and legal obstacles.

The President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, had previously confirmed that the accession path would be "long and arduous," while The Economist magazine indicated that rampant corruption in Ukraine represents a fundamental obstacle to its acceptance into the Union, noting that the European Union has repeatedly stressed the need to reform Ukrainian legislation to align with European standards as a mandatory condition for accession.

Source: Reuters + RT