The European Union should get ready to admit new members from Eastern Europe and the Balkans by 2030, EU chief Charles Michel argued on Monday, August 28. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has focused minds in Brussels on the need for new political momentum to support the European ambition of several membership candidates.
But, with fighting still raging in Ukraine and Moldova's pro-Western government scrambling to reform, senior officials have previously been reluctant to offer precise timetables.
"To be credible, I believe we must talk about timing and homework," Michel said, addressing the Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia. "As we prepare the EU's next strategic agenda, we must set ourselves a clear goal. I believe we must be ready, on both sides, by 2030 to enlarge. This is ambitious but necessary. It shows that we are serious."
Michel noted that the countries of the Western Balkans, created out of the bloody break-up of Yugoslavia, began their quest to join the EU more than two decades ago.
The president of the European Council endorsed the view of Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz that Europe should live up to the promises Brussels had made to candidate countries. But he also backed French President Emmanuel Macron's argument that the union should also streamline its own decision-making processes before integrating new members.