Sawt Falasteen - Merz says no 'immediate' Ukraine EU membership, floats Kyiv joining meetings

Ukraine is pushing to speed up its bid to join the 27-nation European Union as it fights Russia's invasion on the battlefield.

Kyiv's progress has been blocked by Hungary's nationalist premier Viktor Orban, but his defeat in elections earlier this month raised hopes it can move to the next step.

EU leaders broadly back moving Ukraine forward by opening the first of the so-called negotiating "clusters".

But there is little appetite to fast-track Kyiv to full membership -- causing some to pitch possible interim benefits in the meantime.

"It is clear to everyone that an immediate accession of Ukraine to the EU is, of course, not possible," Merz said after an EU summit in Cyprus that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky attended.

"I also want to enable closer integration into the European institutions, for example through participation in European councils without voting rights," Merz added.

Just ahead of the gathering in Cyprus, Zelensky appeared to pour cold water on any plans to grant Kyiv some form of lesser status instead of full membership.

He insisted that Kyiv "does not need symbolic EU membership".

"We are defending common European values. I believe that we deserve full-fledged EU membership," Zelensky told journalists.

Ukraine is desperate to keep up momentum towards joining the bloc and fears that any suggested interim solutions will see it stranded in a halfway house.

Kyiv sees membership of the bloc as vital to its future recovery and security, as the United States has essentially closed the door on it joining NATO.

EU diplomats say Orban's outspoken opposition to Ukraine's membership meant that other leaders also reluctant to admit the country could hide behind him.

Now that he is on his way out, diplomats say others could come out of the shadows to hold up Ukraine's push.

Beyond Ukraine, there are eight other countries that are formally candidates to join the EU. Montenegro and Albania, among those seen as closest to membership, have been applying for over a decade.

- Kyiv's 'impressive' strides -

European Council chief Antonio Costa, who chairs EU summits, said that the strides Kyiv had made on reforms even during wartime were "very impressive".

But he called the painstaking negotiations towards membership "a long process, a very hard one."

"We cannot try to fix artificial moments -- to say it is in three months or is in 10 years," he said.

"We need to work very hard and to continue to work very hard to deliver on this, and as soon as possible."

Russia's invasion has breathed fresh life into the EU's willingness to consider new members after years of eager countries in the Balkans languishing in limbo.

Standing alongside Costa, European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said that ultimately letting Ukraine in would be a "political decision" for EU leaders.

But she insisted that if countries wanting to join carry out the necessary reforms then they should be moved closer to membership.

"It's a two-way contract," said von der Leyen. "If they deliver on the reforms, they have a certain right to move forward in the process.

S.Barghouti--SF-PST