Last week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz floated the idea of granting Ukraine an "associate member" status during accession talks, including limited participation in EU institutions and gradual access to the EU budget but without voting rights.

Foreign Affairs Minister Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200), however, said Merz's proposal had already been circulating when Hungary blocked the EU enlargement process more than two years ago, and the situation in Hungary has since changed.

He called on fellow member states to stick with moving toward full accession.

"Our current recommendation and position is to move clearly forward with the enlargement process as agreed and open all six negotiation chapters before the June summit," Tsahkna said. "Those chapters should be opened for both Ukraine and Moldova."

The minister said it is difficult to predict how quickly negotiations could progress, given sensitive issues such as agriculture, labor mobility and the EU budget framework.

Pursuing alternative models would not support this process, however, which is why he is urging fellow EU member states to likewise focus on the full membership process.

Riigikogu MP and Foreign Affairs Committee chair Marko Mihkelson (Reform) has also said Ukraine should not be left in a permanent "associate" status and stressed the importance of launching accession talks next month.

The EU currently does not have an "associate member" status, though it has signed association agreements with candidate countries in the past, including Estonia in 1995.

The agreement laid the groundwork for close cooperation and created the legal framework that prepared Estonia for EU accession in 2004.

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