The European Union should accept Albania and Montenegro as member states and the European Commission should encourage other candidates through gradual enlargement.

This is what the Austrian minister for Europe, Karolin Edtshtadler, declared in an interview for Euronews.

“I think that by 2030 there will be 29 member countries, with Montenegro joining in 2028 and Albania in 2030, as I have seen with my own eyes how ambitious these two countries are in this process”, said Edtshtadler.

The head of Austrian diplomacy visited both countries in April.

“We can fight the growth of nationalism in the candidate countries, especially in the Western Balkans, only if we stimulate them and this should be done through gradual integration”, said the minister.

Also, she has proposed a greater involvement of the candidate countries in the Brussels meetings, as this would push the politicians of these countries to inform the citizens about the process.

The Lithuanian appointee for European Commissioner Andrius Kubilius expressed himself in the same line. Again in an interview for Euronews, he emphasized that the EU should pay attention to expansion in the next 5 years, allowing Ukraine’s membership if necessary.

Kubilius, currently a Euro-deputy and two-time prime minister of Lithuania, has underlined that the geopolitical situation imposes a return to the philosophy of the early 2000s, when 10 countries joined the European bloc at once.

Citing his country’s experience as Russia’s neighbor, Kubilius said he expects the enlargement and defense processes to be prioritized in the Commission’s next portfolio.

“Enlargement can be the leading project, as we have to determine how the European Union will live in the next 50 years”, added the Lithuanian official.

Gradual enlargement requires countries aiming for membership to be offered partial benefits from the EU as they meet certain conditions, rather than an all-or-nothing approach that benefits only fully-member countries.