MERZ: I STAND BY MY PROPOSAL ON THE STATUS OF UKRAINE AND WESTERN BALKAN COUNTRIES IN THE EU

BERLIN, JULY 15 /SRNA/ - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that he stands by his proposal for "associate membership" for Ukraine and observer status for Western Balkan countries in the European Union /EU/.

Merz said that the proposal received a mixed response in Ukraine due to domestic political reasons, but that it was well received by other EU leaders.

"We have not admitted a single new member to the EU for 13 years, even though we promised EU accession to a number of countries in Europe," Merz emphasized.

He had previously proposed a new status of "associate membership" for Ukraine, which would allow institutional participation without voting rights while it works towards full membership, as well as observer status for Western Balkan countries.