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Germany's Merz casts doubt on Ukraine EU entry by 2034
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 18, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
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Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 18, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Germany's Chancellor Merz doubts Ukraine's EU entry by 2034, prioritizing ending the war and reconstruction. EU leaders see membership as a security guarantee.
BERLIN (Reuters) -German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday cast doubt on the possibility of Ukraine joining the European Union by 2034, saying accession was unlikely to come at a point affecting the bloc's medium-term finance plans, which run to 2034.
"For us, the absolute top priority is, first and foremost, to do everything possible to end this war," Merz said on Friday after a meeting with Romanian President Nicușor Dan in Berlin.
"Then we'll talk about the reconstruction of Ukraine... but that's going to take a number of years ... It will probably not even affect the EU's current medium-term financial outlook," the chancellor said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Kyiv in February that Ukraine could join the EU before 2030 if the country continues reforms at the current speed and quality. EU leaders have also said accession to the EU would be the most important security guarantee for the future of Ukraine.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by Sarah Marsh)
Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed doubt about Ukraine joining the European Union by 2034, emphasizing that ending the war is the top priority.
Merz stated that the absolute top priority is to do everything possible to end the war before discussing Ukraine's reconstruction and EU accession.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen mentioned that Ukraine could join the EU before 2030 if it continues its reforms at the current pace and quality.
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