Financial Times: France and Germany opposed Ukraine's accelerated accession to the EU

France and Germany proposed to provide Ukraine with “symbolic” benefits at the stage of preparation for its accession to the European Union. The Financial Times writes about this with reference to proposals from Berlin and Paris, set out in separate documents.

Under the proposals, Ukraine would not have access to the bloc's budget, EU agricultural subsidies or voting rights until it becomes a full member of the bloc.

The largest EU members rejected proposals from the European Commission, which advocated abandoning the slow and bureaucratic accession process in order to give Ukraine an advantage, the newspaper writes.

Germany is pushing for "associate member" status, under which Ukraine would participate in ministerial and leadership meetings but would not have voting rights or "automatic access" to the EU's general budget. France calls this intermediate membership "integrated state status."

Two senior European Commission officials told the FT that the overall thrust of the documents is likely to be close to the EU's final proposal for Ukraine.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Taras Kachka told the FT that Kyiv maintains contacts with Paris and Berlin, as well as with other capitals. “The situation is evolving. There are other documents,” he said.

Another Ukrainian official noted that in Kyiv this proposal is called “shadow membership.” A third Ukrainian official said: “These guys... need to understand that they need Ukraine too. If they want real security, they need to make a fair offer.”

Germany's proposal says the new status would have "symbolic power due to the name itself" and could be granted based on a political decision by EU leaders, circumventing "lengthy procedures."

“Beyond its symbolic value, this new level of gradual integration would allow for tangible progress for the citizens of the respective candidate countries,” the document prepared by France said.

France requires a referendum before each new EU member joins the bloc.

• Previously, the European Commission proposed granting Ukraine full membership in the European Union without fulfilling all EU criteria. In the future, under this proposal, Ukraine will be able to receive financial and other benefits as it achieves certain milestones in various policy areas. Most EU countries opposed this approach, FT notes.