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The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, recalls previous concerns about Portugal’s accession to the European Union (EU), which once overcome allowed the creation of a “much stronger” bloc, stressing that Member States must prepare for expansion by 2030.
“I come from one of the founding Member States, Belgium, and at each enlargement the member countries at that time were concerned about what the enlargement might mean, including when Spain or Portugal joined the EU. At the time, there were concerns and the impression that the situation could change the nature of solidarity within the EU, but look at what the results are, what the facts are – it is that the fact that Portugal and Spain and many other countries have joined made Europe much stronger,” said Charles Michel in an interview with Lusa.
On the day he travels to Portugal to participate in the annual meeting of the organization Concordia Europe, the President of the European Council also questions: “Can you imagine what the current situation would be if, given Russia’s role against Ukraine, we had not made an enlargement to the eastern part of Europe?”.
“That would mean much more uncertainty, much more danger for us, and the fact that we have these countries within the same political project, with the same political orientation, is much more protective, much safer,” argues Charles Michel.
At a time when he advocates the end of June as the date for the start of formal negotiations for Ukraine’s accession to the EU, the official emphasizes that the community bloc “has to prepare itself and not just ask candidate countries to do their own work”.
As for the date for a possible EU expansion, “I think we have to do everything to prepare ourselves by 2030,” says Charles Michel in an interview with Lusa, indicating that “this does not mean that there will be new Member States in 2030,” but rather that the Union “must be prepared for a specific decision after solving technical aspects”.
“It would be a mistake if we were not prepared. This would make our children’s lives more uncertain,” adds Charles Michel to Lusa.
The position comes after, at the end of March, the European Commission proposed that candidate countries to the European Union – such as Ukraine, Moldova or the Western Balkans – have a gradual integration into the community space and into certain policies of the bloc before the officialization of accession, as Portugal has been advocating.
Enlargement is the process by which States join the EU after fulfilling political and economic requirements.
Currently, the EU candidate countries are Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine, with Kosovo being a potential candidate.
Ukraine has been an EU candidate country since mid-2022, months after the start of the Russian invasion.
In the interview, Charles Michel also addressed the priority of EU defense and security precisely in the context of the continuing Russian invasion of Ukraine and other global geopolitical tensions.
Noting that today there is political will regarding this priority, Michel also says he is “certain that the EU will be able to find future projects in the field of defense,” with “one of the possibilities” for funding being a new issuance of joint debt.