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Never heard of Mr. Rar. He isn´t even a CDU-member, as I read it. Mrs. Merkel is opposed to the admission of Turkey to the EU, like 60% of all Europeans, and she is very reluctant of further expansions. From our view, we should first get used to the EU of 25 before accepting new offers from other countries. In the long run it is very likely that the Ukraine becomes a EU-member - unlike Turkey or Russia. But the Ukraine would also be the eastern frontier.

"Never heard of Mr. Rar."

Neither have I. Backbencher at best

"It is quite obvious that the Ukraine needs a chance to join in, ....but.... since the referendums in France and NL the will of our gouvernments to risk anything anymore is completely blocked... The standpoint of the CDU is to wait for a while before new memberships in the EU are even discussed."

That is actually the crux of the matter: Even those governments that favor EU membership for states like Turkey have to accept, that this won't be possible for the next 15 years or so, because it will never pass the necessary referendums in all the EU nations (or at least those that have referendums). Is Schroeder really so stupid to think that the Irish want to pay for Turkish farmers in the near future? No, talk of Turkish EU membership is just a ploy to lure German voters with Turkish ancestry into voting for the SPD.

So, EU membership for Ukraine in the near future is also very unlikely, although the demographics are not quite as scary as in the case of Turkey.

BUT: It is true that there will be a shift in German foreign policy under Angela Merkel. Why? Because Schroeder was always only concerned about his poll numbers and his popularity, that's why he championed the Turkish cause and showed consideration for Vladimir Putin and Russian sensitivities.
Merkel, on the other hand, grew up under a socialist regime and thus has a lot of sympathy for young, east European democracies, even if that means vexing Russia sometimes. That's also why she esteems George W. Bush because she believes that supporting the spread of democracy is the right thing to do.

Plus, the "priviledged partnership" might be just the right tool for that. Ukraine would profit from European subsidies and open access to European markets without the stress on the Ukrainian economy and social systems full EU membership would entail. After all, the EU still is a very competitive market: If they joined tomorrow, EU companies would probably buy most of the "cheap" Ukranian companies while "cheap Ukranian labour" would flood "affluent" neighbors like Poland. The "priviledged partnership" might be just the right tool to facilitate the transition to western standards.

So in a way, yes, Germany might be much more sympathetic towards the Ukrainian cause. If that means EU membership in the end remains to be seen. But it would certainly mean an end to the criminal neglect of "the new Europe" by the Schroeder administration.