A senior diplomatic source said Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, raised the issue at a recent meeting with EU counterparts in Brussels and called for a change to the treaty before allowing Kiev to formally join. If Ukraine becomes a full member, it will be the EU’s fifth-largest member state, but also its poorest, according to an analysis by the German Institute for International Affairs and Security. Despite the outward celebration of Ukraine’s bid to join the EU, it has raised concerns behind closed doors. Under the bloc’s current electoral system, which takes into account the number of countries voting and their population, Kyiv would hold 9 percent of the EU’s total powers. Combining these powers with close ally Poland would make the pair more powerful than Germany, the EU’s largest and richest state. The addition of other Central and Eastern European allies would comfortably create a majority in the bloc stronger than the traditional Franco-German power base. “This would shift the balance of power within the EU away from Germany and France and more towards Central and Eastern Europe, where the countries, along with the Scandinavians, would for the first time become a more significant bloc in terms of electoral power.” . Dr Nicolai von Odarza, of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said.
