The European Union says it could welcome new member states by 2030, highlighting progress made by countries including Montenegro, Albania, and Ukraine. EU officials praised their reforms and ongoing efforts to meet membership criteria, emphasizing the bloc’s commitment to enlargement.
The announcement comes amid discussions about the future of EU expansion and the strategic importance of integrating Western Balkan nations and supportive partners like Ukraine. Analysts say timely accession could strengthen the EU politically and economically, while signaling support for nations pursuing democratic and economic reforms.
EU leaders noted that accession depends on continued progress in governance, rule of law, and economic stability. The bloc emphasized that while timelines are aspirational, the message is clear: countries demonstrating commitment to EU standards have a path toward membership.
The prospect of enlargement has sparked debates across the EU about institutional readiness, economic implications, and the geopolitical significance of welcoming new members, especially in light of ongoing tensions in Eastern Europe.
00:00Strategic question. Is joining the European Union the strongest idea discussed here in Brussels, as you know, allowing new members in earlier, but without...
00:14I would like to say that the most important thing is the Ukrainian values. Ukraine has chosen to be the...
00:21Thank you very much. Thanks. Thank you very much.
00:26Well, for now, it's opening the negotiations on all the clusters, as they have said in the report, that we are ready, so this is what should happen.
00:35President, would you consider that a failure of the EU before the end of the year?
00:39I don't want to think about tailors. I want to believe that by the end of this year, the EU is going to find solutions.
00:47For all of the clusters?
00:48For all the clusters.
00:49We do have important reforms to implement. Justice sector reform is one of the reforms, which is not easy, but we have made progress, especially with the external, extraordinary evaluation of judges and prosecutors, which is about integrity of judges and prosecutors.
01:04We have made progress in fighting corruption, and also the Moldovan people can see the first results, so we should continue with this reform. It's not easy.
01:13We have made progress in the energy sector. Four years ago, we were 100% dependent on Russian gas. Today, we don't consume any Russian gas, with the exception of Transnistrian region.
01:25We are going to finish, by the end of this month, the first high-voltage electricity connection line with Romania, which is going to connect us directly to the EU market.
01:35Hello, thank you very much for being here. Please, take a seat.
01:41Thank you for the invitation.
01:44And unfortunately, we are in the same place where we were 25 years ago, due to some artificial reasons.
01:51Not because of the Copenhagen criteria, not because of the Copenhagen criteria, not because of the fulfilling some objectives, but because of some artificial disputes, such as our national flag, our national name, our country name, change of constitution this, change of constitution that.
02:11Welcome, Minister.
02:12Hello.
02:13Take a seat.
02:14First of all, let me tell you that the report that we have just received is an additional evidence to the plan that we as a government had, which is to have each of the reports being better than the previous ones.
02:32So, previous year, we had the best report up until then, and now this is the best report ever, so to say.
02:39So, it is an evidence of a very hard work of the government of Montenegro, but not just of the government, but also of other political institutions in the country.
02:48But it is also an introduction, I would say, to a very successful intergovernmental conference that we will have by the end of this year, where we will close several chapters.
02:58And on the other hand, it is, let's say, a blueprint of what we need to do in the forthcoming 12 or 13 months in order to fulfill our goal to finish the negotiations and to close all chapters by the end of 26.
03:12So, President, you have time for a couple of questions.
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