Former Commission President: Juncker for “partial membership” of Ukraine in the EU

Former EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has proposed EU “partial membership” for Ukraine. “Ukraine will not be able to become an EU member very quickly,” he told the German Press Agency in Luxembourg. “There are many unresolved problems in Ukraine, from corruption to the rule of law, that need to be ironed out before one can seriously consider Ukraine’s accession.”

Juncker, who was President of the EU Commission from 2014 to 2019, said of his proposal for partial membership: “One should concentrate on such models instead of immediate full membership. You cannot make empty promises to the Ukrainians.”

Ukraine applied for EU membership on February 28, 2022, a few days after the start of the Russian war of aggression. Accession negotiations have officially been ongoing since June 25, 2024.

Participation without voting rights

Juncker said that one should not try to “give the Ukrainians the impression that we are determined to give Ukraine a more European status as a member of the European Union immediately, just yesterday.” It must be clear “that this accession prospect for Ukraine exists and is there and that we are moving in that direction.”

However, based on his experience with previous EU enlargements, he thinks “that one should not immediately and necessarily strive for full membership for Ukraine, but rather partial membership in the sense that Ukraine is involved in important decisions of the European Union without them Ukraine will become a member of the European Union.

“I think this would be an important path that would also show the Ukrainians that their efforts towards accession will not remain without a positive response from the European Union,” he said. According to Juncker, partial membership would mean that Ukraine could take part in some EU policies and related meetings without voting rights. For Ukraine, this would be a sign that the Europeans recognize that the reforms necessary for full membership are being addressed.

Support Ukraine “as long as it is necessary”

Regarding the question of how long such a partial membership could last, Juncker said: “I don’t have a timetable. But this “immediately. “Yesterday” does not do justice to the dignity of Ukrainians. Because it gives the impression that full membership is possible immediately. It is not.”

He considers the rapid end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine announced by the future US President Donald Trump to be “extremely optimistic”: “Unless a Russia-driven diktat peace is imposed on Ukraine. You can’t do that. So in When it comes to Ukraine, we must make it clear that we will stand by Ukraine as long as it is necessary.”

“Partial membership” is not provided for in the current EU Treaty of Lisbon. However, there are countries such as Norway and Switzerland that are contractually closely linked to the EU without membership in certain areas.