European Council President Charles Michel will speak at the Bled Strategic Forum later in the day and stress that the European Union should be ready to accept new members by 2030, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Monday.
"We must now address enlargement as one of our major challenges. Both for the EU and for its future member states," Michel said in the speech seen by the FT. He will also address the ways the EU can help Ukraine, cited as the "poorest-ever candidate" amid Russia's military operation, on its path to the bloc.
In addition to Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Moldova have the status of candidates. Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkey have gone a step further and have the status of candidates negotiating.