How Brussels perceives Merz’s idea of a special status for Ukraine in EU

European expert Klaus Welle defends the idea of a special status for Ukraine, proposed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in a letter to EU leaders. At the same time, he acknowledges that some of its elements will likely need to be adjusted.

Klaus Welle is the former Secretary General of the European Parliament. He occupied this post for nearly 14 years – longer than any of his predecessors for nearly 14 years – before stepping down at the end of 2022. 

He currently chairs the academic council of the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies and advises several current top officials. It is also important that Welle is German and comes from the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) – Merz’s and Germany’s ruling party. 

Read more about Klaus Welle’s stance in the article: Six ways Merz’s "EU associate membership" idea could benefit Ukraine: a view from Brussels.

Friedrich Merz, as the Federal Chancellor of Germany, has a strong interest in ensuring that Ukraine comes as close to the European Union as possible at any given moment. 

I've been active in the Brussels bubble for more than 30 years. I've seen very, very closely the enlargement round with Poland and all other countries that joined the EU in this period.

Firstly, Merz proposes to immediately open all negotiation chapters–and that's exactly what Ukraine wants.

Secondly, Ukrainians would be present in the meeting rooms of the European Council, the Council of Ministers, the Commission, and in the European Parliament. I believe that would help your [Ukraine's] case. 

No voting rights and no influence do not go together.

But being present at EU meetings means that every day you put the interests of your country on the agenda. You are in the debates, you go to the committees, and you say, "Look, you are discussing something, but here is an important point from my country’s point of view".

Thirdly, Merz proposes to apply step-by-step the acquis communautaire [EU legislation] according to the progress in accession negotiations, meaning you grow into the European Union.

Fourthly, some budget programmes under the direct management of the Commission would already be accessible to Ukraine. Ukraine could criticise it and say that it doesn’t touch agriculture or cohesion funds, but programmes under direct management are about 20% of the EU budget and that’s a lot.

The fifth point is the full alignment of Ukraine’s foreign and security policy with the European Union, and while this is something for Ukraine to do, in exchange Ukraine would get access to Article 42.7 – a solidarity article, a kind of European analogue to NATO’s Article 5. Under Article 42.7, you can activate many European Union programmes, for example military mobility, which provides a way to supply military equipment quickly. 

The sixth point is a snap-back mechanism against backsliding, which would allow the EU to reverse certain steps in the event of a rollback of reforms in Ukraine. 

The "snap-back" mechanism against reform rollback is an important element. If Kyiv fails to implement the necessary prerequisites – for example, in the area of anti-corruption – then preferences provided to Ukraine could be reduced.

The road to membership is neither easy nor smooth. You have to go against a lot of vested interests. And if you have the absolute willingness, you get the prize.

With Ukraine, I definitely see that the Ukrainian people absolutely want to be in the EU. But if your government is not willing to make that sacrifice – to take actions which are needed but may result in the loss of popular support – then it will be difficult to reach what their people want so much.

Friedrich Merz’s letter is not a decision or a legislative proposal; it is a call for discussion. It is a contribution from the largest member state in the EU, a state that feels very close to Ukraine. 

Now the European Council in June will discuss this [at the summit].