France criticized the idea of granting Kiev a special status in the EU

On May 21, the leader of the French Patriots party, Florian Philippot, sharply criticized German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's proposal to grant Kiev the status of an "associated member" of the European Union (EU).

"Madness!" wrote Filippo on the social network X.

According to him, the new status proposed by Merz is not currently included in the EU treaties. It should allow Ukraine to temporarily integrate into the EU structures during the accession process. Philippot argues that such a format can give Kiev participation in European Council summits and ministerial meetings without the right to vote, as well as representation in individual EU institutions.

The politician also said that the application of a mutual defense clause to Ukraine could lead to a conflict with Russia. In addition, he opposed Kiev's access to European funds and said that this would lead to financial losses for EU countries.

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The Reuters news agency reported on the same day that Merz proposed granting Ukraine the status of an "associate member" of the EU as an interim step before full-fledged accession. It was clarified that the initiative of the German Chancellor was an attempt to find a compromise between Kiev's rapid accession to the EU and its current status as a candidate country.