EU chief Charles Michel has urged Brussels to be ready to admit new members by 2030.
The European Council President spoke yesterday at the Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia, where Western Balkan leaders gathered.
Mr Michel stated that “enlargement is no longer a pipe dream” and that “the time has come to move forward.”
“As we prepare the EU’s next strategic agenda, we must set a clear goal,” he said.
“I believe we must be prepared to expand – on both sides – by 2030.” This is a bold yet essential step. It demonstrates our seriousness.”
Mr Michel admitted that bringing in new members to the bloc “won’t be easy”.
He said: “It will affect our policies, our programmes, and their budgets. It will require political reforms and political courage. The EU’s territory and demography will get bigger.”
Mr Michel said the biggest challenge could be convincing Europeans.
He said: “The heart of enlargement is in my opinion not about processes, screenings, assessments, negotiations, treaties.
“The heart of enlargement is about the people, about the future of our children, about the fate of Europe.
“So we need to make sure we have the hearts of the people with us.
“This may be our biggest challenge. This involves explaining the EU, this involves highlighting the benefits, and it’s a choice of society.
“It also means moving beyond the language of the past to focus on the future.”
Mr Michel said enlargement “is and will remain a merit-based process” as he pointed to the need to respect the EU’s values and the rule of law.
He ended his speech: “With real political will we can make both the EU and the future member states ready.
“Now is the time to be bold, now is the time to build our larger European future all together.”
Eight countries – Turkey, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Moldova, Ukraine, and Bosnia and Herzegovina – currently hold candidate status.
But for many in the Western Balkans the process has stalled, while it has been put on hold for Turkey.
Ukraine, Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina have been granted candidate status since Vladimir Putin launched his brutal invasion of Kyiv.