The heads of state and government of the EU disagree on the need to fix 2030 as a goal for expanding the union, said the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, following the results of an informal summit in Granada.
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“A number of leaders agreed that the date should be fixed, others opposed it,” Michel said.
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In his opinion, such a date is needed in order to demonstrate to the candidate countries the seriousness of the EU’s intentions.
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“This is a question of the authority of the European Union,” the politician believes.
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He pointed out that the Western Balkans have been waiting their turn to join the EU for more than two decades, which creates a feeling of disappointment. Moreover, EU countries themselves must undertake reforms in order to adapt to future enlargement.
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At the same time, he noted that he did not propose to include this date in the joint statement following the summit, and recalled that the process of accession to the EU is based, first of all, on the progress of candidate countries in fulfilling the set requirements.
Earlier, Michel, in an interview with Spiegel, admitted that Ukraine, if all the required conditions are met, can join the European Union in 2030, even if this will not be an easy task. He also did not rule out admitting other new members by that date.
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In turn, the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that the 2030 date Michel named for EU enlargement is considered only as a guideline, and not an exact date. In his opinion, the EU has spent “too much time on the enlargement process.” He also added that Ukraine, which became the last in the line of candidates for EU membership, is “pushing” this line forward, “now the movement will be fast.”
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At the informal EU summit in Granada, the issue of enlargement of the European Union and its consequences was discussed, among other things. Official candidates for EU membership are Ukraine, Moldova, the countries of the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro), as well as Turkey.
