Germany urges the E.U. to offer Ukraine ‘associate membership’ and boost talks with Russia

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants the European Union to consider offering “associate membership” to Ukraine and breathe new life into talks aimed at ending more than four years of war with Russia, according to a letter seen Thursday by The Associated Press

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants the European Union to consider offering “associate membership” to Ukraine and breathe new life into talks aimed at ending more than four years of war with Russia, according to a letter seen Thursday by The Associated Press.

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His letter, to the E.U.’s top officials, comes as the 27-nation bloc weighs whether to try to launch its own negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with U.S. mediated talks bogged down while America’s attention focuses on the Iran war.

Under Merz’s proposals, Ukraine would take part in E.U. meetings, but without voting rights, and would also have non-voting “associate members” of the bloc’s powerful executive branch, the European Commission, and the European Parliament.