New Countries Joining EU by 2030 a Realistic Goal, EU Foreign Policy Chief Says

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas addresses a press conference at the Forum Copenhagen in Denmark on Aug. 30, 2025. Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty ImagesThe European Commission said on Nov. 4 that the European Union could welcome new member states as early as 2030, as it praised nations including Ukraine and Montenegro for the reforms they have made as part of the accession process.The EU is an economic-political union currently comprising 27 European countries. Croatia was the last member to join in 2013. The United Kingdom left in February 2020, after voting in a 2016 referendum to leave the union.