The President of Finland Proposed to Expand the European Union to 40 Countries 0 9

Speaking at an energy conference in Helsinki, Stubb emphasized that expansion has always been one of the most successful strategies of the European Union.

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if Canada became the 28th EU member state instead of becoming the 51st state of the USA?" said the President of Finland.

Among the countries that could potentially join the European Union, Stubb mentioned Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland, Turkey, and Canada.

According to him, it is expansion that has helped the EU strengthen its influence on the international stage.

"The best policy in the history of Europe has been expansion," noted the Finnish leader.

He also emphasized that the geopolitical strength and strategic autonomy of Europe directly depend on the scale and size of the union.

Stubb believes that the EU needs to take advantage of the current favorable moment to make important decisions.

"The EU needs to take advantage of the current rather short window of opportunity," he stated.

In the opinion of the President of Finland, the situation may change after the end of the war in Ukraine and a possible change of administration in the United States.

Currently, nine countries have official candidate status for EU membership: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Montenegro.

Alexander Stubb's statement reflects the growing discussions within Europe about the future of the European Union in the context of the changing geopolitical situation. However, implementing such a large-scale expansion will require not only political will but also lengthy negotiations, as many of the mentioned countries are still at different stages of integration with the EU.