Michel says Ukraine could join EU by 2030

He said this in an interview with German news outlet Der Spiegel, Ukrinform reports.

"Ukraine can become a member of the EU in 2030 if both sides do their homework," Michel said when asked if he meant Ukraine when he called on the EU to be ready to accept new members by 2030.

He said that Ukraine and other candidate countries must implement reforms, fight corruption and meet the legal requirements.

"We in the EU must clearly understand what we want to achieve together, what our priorities are and what we want to spend money on. And we need to speed up the decision-making processes," Michel said.

In his opinion, in 2030 the EU "will have more members than today," and "a prosperous and safe Ukraine corresponds to European interests."

"Resistance to Russia showed that Ukraine belongs to the EU. And [this will happen] soon," Michel said.