SERBIA PERSPECTIVE

Belgrade, May 21, 2026. The daily Politika relayed in detail the letter addressed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to the leaders of the European Union, in which he proposes granting Ukraine a 'associated member' status as a transitional step towards full membership. The information, cited by Reuters, is taken seriously in Belgrade, where the European integration process has been the central axis of official foreign policy for over a decade.

According to the content of this letter, the envisaged status would allow Ukrainian officials to participate in EU summits and ministerial meetings, without, however, having voting rights. Merz justifies this formula by 'the particular situation of Ukraine, a country at war,' specifying that the device aims to facilitate ongoing peace negotiations. He goes further by proposing that EU member states take a 'political commitment' to apply the EU's mutual assistance clause to Ukraine, in order to create 'a significant security guarantee.'

What catches attention in Belgrade is the phrase by which Merz assures that his proposal will not affect other candidate countries. The Chancellor even goes so far as to propose that the EU 'consider innovative solutions' for long-term candidate countries – a category that directly concerns Serbia, which has been an official candidate since 2012 and has opened accession negotiations without concluding them. No accession schedule has ever been set for Belgrade.

The formula 'innovative solutions' remains deliberately vague. It could mean accelerating negotiations for the most advanced candidates, or, on the contrary, extending the associated member model to other Western Balkan countries – a perspective that divides the capitals of the region. For Belgrade, accepting a status without voting rights could be presented as a step forward, but also risks being perceived as a normalization of a two-speed Europe in which the Balkans are structurally maintained on the periphery.

Merz added in his letter that he plans to discuss this with his European counterparts and wants 'to quickly reach an agreement' and create a working group to develop the details. Ukraine had submitted its candidacy application in February 2022 and obtained official candidate status as early as June of the same year – a speed unprecedented by the Balkan countries, engaged in much longer reform processes.