Stubb called for EU to expand to 40 countries: Ukraine is among candidates
Finnish President Alexander Stubb has called for the EU to be expanded to 40 countries, including Ukraine, Moldova and other candidate countries.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by CNBC.
Speaking at an energy conference, Stubb stated that the EU should push for an expansion of its membership to 40 states, and named the UK, Canada, Turkey, Norway and Iceland as potential candidates for accession.
Stubb stated that the European Union must "think big" and take advantage of the current "window of opportunity" for enlargement, which, in his view, may be time-limited due to global political changes and the end of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
He noted that once the war ends and following possible changes in US political leadership, attention to the issue of enlargement may wane, and the process itself could become more complicated due to internal debates within the EU.
"The ‘window of opportunity’ for EU enlargement is quite short, because once the war in Ukraine ends and, perhaps, when the US administration changes – I don’t know – then people will take their foot off the accelerator and start nitpicking over trivial matters again," Stubb remarked.
Flexible membership formats and new candidates
The Finnish President emphasised that the EU’s strategic strength depends on its size, and also proposed considering more flexible formats of participation in the bloc, which could encompass a wider range of countries.
"At this point, we need to think big, and geographically we need to expand or at least create forms of membership that are flexible enough to encompass a total of 40 European states – or even non-European ones," he said.
Stubb emphasised that Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia should be involved in the enlargement process, and that prospects for cooperation with Iceland and Norway should be explored.
He also mentioned the need to deepen ties with the UK, which left the EU in 2020, or at least to ensure the closest possible cooperation with the Union.
Stubb also mentioned Canada, noting: "Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Canada were the 28th member state of the European Union, rather than the 51st state of the United States?"
