EU could admit new members by 2030, says its foreign policy chief

Kaja Kallas tells reporters more countries could join 27-country bloc, including Montenegro, Albania and Ukraine

The European Union could admit new members by 2030, its foreign policy chief has said, as officials praised reform efforts by frontrunners Montenegro and Albania, while criticising backsliding in Serbia and an even steeper democratic decline in Georgia.

The verdicts came as the European Commission published its annual report cards on 10 countries that aspire to join the EU, after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 injected new momentum into a process that had long been moribund.

“Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine and the geopolitical shifts make the case for enlargement very clear cut,” Kaja Kallas told reporters. “It is a necessity if we want to be a stronger player on the world stage.”

She added that “new countries joining the European Union by 2030 is a realistic goal” and said Montenegro was the most advanced in the accession process and a frontrunner for membership, alongside Albania.