Ukraine should become an "associate member" of the European Union before becoming a fully fledged member state, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said in a proposal aimed at breaking the two-year deadlock in the country's bid to join the bloc.
"It is obvious that we will not be able to complete the accession process shortly, given the countless hurdles as well as the political complexities of ratification processes in various member states," Merz writes in a letter to EU leaders seen by Euronews.
