EU did not publicly support the idea of "associate membership" for Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
EU leaders at the summit in Cyprus did not support the idea of associate membership for Ukraine. António Costa emphasized the opening of the first cluster of negotiations for full accession.
Leaders of European Union institutions during an informal summit in Cyprus did not publicly support the idea of "associated membership" for Ukraine, which had previously been voiced by Germany. Statements from EU leadership emphasized that the enlargement process is based on meeting criteria, reforms, and negotiations for full membership, reports UNN.
President of the European Council António Costa stated that the next step should be the opening of the first negotiation cluster regarding Ukraine's membership.
Budanov criticized the proposal of "symbolic" EU membership for Ukraine23.04.26, 16:17 • 3068 views
Now is the time to prepare the next step – the opening of the first cluster of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union
Thus, Brussels demonstrates commitment to the classical accession model, rather than intermediate formats.
Supplement
France and Germany plan to grant Ukraine "symbolic" benefits at the pre-accession stage to the European Union, which exclude Kyiv's access to the bloc's budget and voting rights.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated, that Ukraine does not consider options for partial or "simplified" integration into the European Union and NATO and seeks full membership in both organizations.