EU could admit new members by 2030, says its foreign policy chief

Question

The European Union (EU) may add new countries by 2030, said its top foreign affairs official, Kaja Kallas. She said Russia’s war in Ukraine shows why the EU needs to grow to stay strong and safe. Montenegro and Albania are the closest to joining. Ukraine has worked hard to follow EU rules, even while continuing to fight Russia, and although Moldova is also doing well, Russia continues to force control over Moldova's politics and stop its progress.

However, as Ukraine and Moldova are slowly inching forward to progress, some countries are moving backward. Georgia’s talks to join the EU stopped after its government used violence against protesters. Serbia has faced protests and problems with free speech. To add new members, all 27 EU countries must agree. However, Hungary is blocking progress for Ukraine and Moldova. Some EU leaders think the EU should fix its own system first before adding more members, but smaller countries like Montenegro and Albania could join without big problems. Ukraine’s case will be harder because it is large and still at war.

Answer 1

In my research, i found that this is true: there are currently ten countries that are considered candidates in the EU application process, including Ukraine and the other countries mentioned in this claim.

The primary sources I found was from the European Union website detailing the process of application and the countries currently considered to be applicants in this process. Another primary source found was from the Delegation of EU to Albania, describing the application status of a few of the countries in this process.

Source 1: https://european-union.europa.eu/principles-countries-history/eu-enlargement_en

Source 2: https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/albania/enlargement-package-shows-progress-towards-eu-membership-key-enlargement-partners_en

Secondary sources I found include a Reuters article, "Ten countries hope to join the European Union. Here is their formal status," which delves into each of the candidate countries' application statuses and their future plans or obstacles with continuing, to be considered part of the European Union. The second source I found was also from Reuters, about the timeline of new members being as soon as 2030, specifically Montenegro as being the most advanced of all candidate nations in the application process.

Source 1: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/candidates-join-european-union-2024-10-30/

Source 2: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-says-montenegro-is-most-advanced-country-join-bloc-2025-11-04/

There aren't any biases that I am particularly concerned with, because the EU has been consistently transparent about the process and the candidate countries' status. As well, Reuters is a highly respected publication with a ton of transparency, and the Guardian, from where this claim originates, is also a respected newspaper.

This claim seems to be fully supported by my sources, and there is not any misleading or false statement that I can see.

Answer 2

This statement appears to be true as is being reported on other sources like Reuters. Reuters cites a quote from the European Commission that said, "the EU could welcome new members as early as 2030 as it praised Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Moldova for their progress on reforms needed to join the bloc." The same article also paraphrased a quote discussing Serbian efforts to slow down reforms that would lead to their instatement into the EU, backing up your claim. 

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-says-montenegro-is-most-advanced-country-join-bloc-2025-11-04/#:~:text=EU%20COMMISSION%20STRONGLY%20CRITICISES%20GEORGIA,which%20the%20EU%20strongly%20denies.