German chancellor sees Ukraine's EU accession as precondition for peace

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz believes that Ukraine's European integration is a prerequisite for bringing the war to an end, which he said could be concluded with territorial concessions by Kyiv.

Source: Merz speaking at a gymnasium (a secondary school) in the town of Marsberg, as reported by Die Welt and European Pravda

Details: Merz said there might be a peace treaty between Russia and Ukraine that would involve territorial concessions by Kyiv and would therefore require a nationwide referendum in Ukraine.

"At some point, Ukraine will sign a ceasefire agreement; at some point, hopefully, [there will be] a peace treaty with Russia. Then it may happen that part of Ukraine's territory will no longer be Ukrainian," Merz said.

Merz believes that to secure majority support for such a peace deal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would need concrete assurances from the EU regarding Ukraine's future accession.

"If President Zelenskyy wants to present this to his own people and gain majority support, and if a referendum is required, then he must at the same time be able to tell the people: 'I have opened the path to Europe for you'," the German chancellor said.

According to Merz, the EU must take steps regarding Ukraine that are "reliable, irreversible and ultimately lead to full membership of the European Union".

Background:

• At an EU summit in Cyprus, the German chancellor suggested that Ukraine could be gradually integrated into EU institutional processes, particularly by being allowed to attend meetings of the European Council, the European Parliament, or the European Commission, although without voting rights.
• Previously, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Kyiv is not interested in partial EU membership, just as Europe would not want a limited version of the Ukrainian military.
• He later again rejected the idea of "symbolic" EU membership, emphasising that Ukraine's fight to defend Europe is not symbolic and that the country deserves full membership.

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