Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto called on the European Union to open accession talks with the Balkan countries immediately, and to add them to the EU as soon as possible. Szijjarto spoke in response to comments from European Council President Charles Michel who cited 2030 as a year when the EU could be ready to accept new members.

I think enlargement is necessary and must be sped up as much as possible. We heard about 2030. Why not tomorrow? What is sopping us to say that we must include all the Western Balkan candidates in the EU, instead of waiting for 2030. Let’s open all the chapters and close them as soon as possible, Szijjarto said at a panel at the Balkan conference in Bled.