European Commission names four leading candidates for EU accession by 2030

Several new countries — including Albania, Moldova, Ukraine, and Montenegro — could join the European Union by 2030, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas announced during a press conference in Brussels, where she presented the Commission’s annual report on would-be members’ efforts to join the bloc.

“Expanding the Union is in our best interest,” the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

“Joining the European Union remains a fair, tough and merit-based process. But now, new countries joining the European Union by 2030 is a realistic goal,” Kallas said.

Earlier, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said Montenegro, a Balkan nation of some 600,000 people, was the most advanced of the candidate countries on its path to membership.

Kos, who oversees the EU executive’s work with possible future members, also praised Albania for what she called its “unprecedented progress”, while Moldova, which borders Ukraine, had also moved ahead with “accelerated speed” despite pressures.

By Vafa Guliyeva