Finnish President Alexander Stubb stated that the EU needs to increase its global influence on a larger scale, and its membership should be expanded to approximately 40 countries or member states. Speaking at an energy conference in Helsinki, he specifically named the UK, Canada, Turkey, Norway, and Iceland, saying these countries should all be included in the discussions.
Expansion plans are aimed at geopolitical influence.
Stubb argues that Europe's strategic autonomy and geopolitical influence are often built on size. He believes that one of the EU's most effective policies in the past was expansion, and it should seize the window of opportunity to promote broader integration or establish more flexible membership relationships.
He indicated that this window of opportunity might not last long. If the Russia-Ukraine war ends, or if the US government changes, the current sense of urgency surrounding European security and integration may diminish, and discussions on expansion could stall again.
Canada, the United Kingdom, and Türkiye were included in the discussion.
Regarding specific targets, Stubb suggested that the EU should try to bring the UK back into the EU system. Although the UK officially left the EU in 2020, he believes that the western side of Europe still needs to include the UK in a closer cooperation framework.
He also mentioned Canada, saying the idea was worth serious discussion. According to him, rather than viewing Canada as "the 51st state of the United States," it would be better to consider deeper institutional ties with Europe.
Stubb also stated that Turkey should not be excluded from European security discussions. He said that in addition to Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, Europe needs to re-examine Turkey seriously, at least from a security perspective, and bring it as close as possible to the European system.
The EU expansion agenda is underway.
Currently, the European Union is advancing its largest expansion process in recent years, with nine candidate countries seeking membership. Montenegro and Albania in the Western Balkans are considered to be among the fastest-progressing candidates, while Ukraine and Moldova are also close to formally beginning accession negotiations.
Stubb also mentioned that the Western Balkans remain one of the most sensitive regions in Europe, and the future of Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina is related to the future security landscape of Europe.
Regarding the Nordic countries, he specifically mentioned Iceland and Norway. The Icelandic parliament recently agreed to hold a referendum on August 29th to decide whether to initiate negotiations for EU membership. Iceland applied to join the EU after the 2009 global financial crisis, but suspended negotiations four years later.
The European Commission has not yet responded to Stuber's statement.
