EU enlargement chief backs 2030 deadline for welcoming new members to bloc

The EU’s enlargement chief has backed a 2030 deadline for new members to be added to the bloc. Hungarian Commissioner Oliver Várhelyi threw his weight behind the date set by European Council President Charles Michel despite European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen rejecting the target. Speaking during a press conference in Ankara with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Mr Várhelyi said: ‘On our side we have been working tirelessly to that end, so I’m very happy to see finally the member states are also starting to move and mobilise politically, and ready to invest politically to have new members of the EU by 2030.” However he ruled out the prospect of Turkey, whose bid to join has been stalled for decades, entering in the near future. He said: ‘The negotiations for accession are at a standstill now, and for this to be remobilized there are very clear criteria set out also by the European Council that would need to be addressed, and these criteria are related to democracy and rule of law.”