Finnish President Stubb calls for EU expansion to include Türkiye and Canada
Finnish President Alexander Stubb on Wednesday called for the European Union to expand to around 40 member states, including Türkiye and Canada. Speaking at a conference in Helsinki, Stubb said the bloc should also consider the United Kingdom, Norway and Iceland as potential candidates. “We need to open our minds to understand that, at least from a security perspective, Turkey needs to be as close as possible,” he stated.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb on Wednesday called for the European Union to expand from 27 member states to around 40, advocating for the inclusion of Türkiye and Canada, and naming the United Kingdom, Norway and Iceland as potential candidates.
Speaking at a conference in Helsinki, Stubb said the bloc should reconsider its approach to Ankara. “No one is talking about (Türkiye) any more. We need to think seriously about Türkiye,” he stated. “We need to open our minds to understand that, at least from a security perspective, Turkey needs to be as close as possible.”
Türkiye has completed most of the criteria the EU asked it to fulfill as part of its long-standing membership application. Under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Ankara shifted from absolute alignment with the EU in strategic cooperation to a balanced relationship, building new partnerships globally while maintaining its ambition for full membership.
Stubb’s remarks come a day after Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş met with the Finnish president in Helsinki.