In Europe, they reported a split in the EU due to Merz's initiative on Ukraine's accession

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's proposal to accelerate Ukraine's integration into the European Union (EU) by granting the country the status of an "associate member" of the association has only made things worse and provoked a serious split within the community. This is stated in an article by The European Conservative on May 22.

The author notes that the politician wanted to overcome the impasse on Ukraine's integration into the EU, but Brussels said that his initiative arose without sufficient coordination and at a politically inconvenient moment.

"The reaction in Brussels was far from enthusiastic. European diplomats question the legal validity of the proposal and doubt the possibility of its implementation without changing laws, which causes panic among many states. Others believe that the initiative appeared without sufficient coordination and at a politically inconvenient moment," the article says.

It is noted that the discussion of Merz's proposal exposed a deep internal crisis in the EU, which clearly indicates that the root of the problem is not in Kiev at all, but inside Europe.

"This episode demonstrates how badly the European consensus on enlargement begins to crumble as soon as it comes to concrete steps," admitted the author of an article in The European Conservative.

Indicative introduction: The EU is discussing Ukraine's admission before the end of the conflict

Will this lead to a direct clash between Moscow and Brussels and why can't the European Union agree on a common position?

On May 21, Reuters reported that Merz proposed granting Ukraine the status of an "associate member" of the European Union as an interim step before fully joining the community. Such a status would allow Ukrainian representatives to participate in EU summits and ministerial meetings, but without the right to vote.

At the same time, the German agency DPA noted that Merz called it unrealistic to effectively complete negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU in the near future.