"I come from one of the founding member states, Belgium, and at each enlargement the member states at that time were worried about what it could mean, including when Spain or Portugal joined the EU. At that time, there were concerns and the feeling that it could change the nature of solidarity in the EU, but look at the results, look at the facts – the fact that Portugal and Spain and many other countries joined made Europe much stronger", said Charles Michel in an interview with Lusa.

On the day he travels to Portugal to participate in the annual meeting of the Concordia Europe organisation, the President of the European Council also asks: "Can you imagine what the current situation would be if, given Russia's role against Ukraine, we had not enlarged to the eastern part of Europe?".

"That would mean much more uncertainty, much more danger for us, and the fact that we have these countries within the same political project, with the same political orientation, is much more protective, much safer", argues Charles Michel.

At a time when he defends the date of the end of June for the start of formal negotiations for Ukraine's accession to the EU, the official stresses that the community bloc "has to prepare and not only to ask the candidate countries to do their own work".

As for the date for a possible expansion of the EU, "I think we have to do everything to be ready by 2030", says Charles Michel in the interview with Lusa, indicating that "this does not mean that there will be new Member States in 2030", but rather that the Union "must be prepared for a specific decision after resolving technical aspects".

"It would be a mistake if we were not prepared. It would make our children's lives more uncertain", Charles Michel tells Lusa.

The position comes after the European Commission proposed at the end of March that candidate countries for the European Union - such as Ukraine, Moldova or the Western Balkans - have a gradual integration into the community space and into certain bloc policies before the officialisation of accession, as Portugal has defended.

Enlargement is the process by which states join the EU, after fulfilling political and economic requirements.

Currently, the candidate countries for the EU are Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine, with Kosovo being a potential candidate.

Ukraine has had the status of a candidate country for the EU since mid-2022, months after the start of the Russian invasion.

In the interview, Charles Michel also addressed the priority of EU defence and security, precisely in the context of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and other global geopolitical tensions.

Noting that there is now political will for this priority, Michel also says he is "certain that the EU will be able to find future projects in the field of defence", with "one of the possibilities" for financing it being a new joint debt issue.

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