‘Ambitious, but necessary’: Will be ready for new members by 2030, EU chief says

"To be credible, I believe we must talk about timing and homework," Michel said.

The European Union should get ready to admit new members from eastern Europe and the Balkans by 2030, EU chief Charles Michel argued Monday.

Charles Michel, president of the European Council, during a news conference in Brussels, Belgium. (Bloomberg)

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has focused minds in Brussels on the need for a new political momentum to support the European ambition of several membership candidates.

But, with fighting still raging in Ukraine and Moldova's pro-Western government scrambling to reform, senior officials have previously been reluctant to offer precise timetables.

"To be credible, I believe we must talk about timing and homework," Michel said, addressing the Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia.

"As we prepare the EU's next strategic agenda, we must set ourselves a clear goal. I believe we must be ready, on both sides, by 2030 to enlarge.

"This is ambitious, but necessary. It shows that we are serious."

Michel noted that the countries of the Western Balkans, created out of the bloody break-up of Yugoslavia, began their quest to join the EU more than two decades ago.

But he also backed French President Emmanuel Macron's argument that the union should also streamline its own decision-making processes before integrating new members.