Scholz eyes ‘sovereign, enlarged EU’

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz yesterday pledged emphatic backing for Ukraine and other hopefuls to join the European Union, underlining however that enlarging the bloc to "30 or 36" would require reforms.

In a speech laying out his vision for the EU during a visit to the Czech Republic, Scholz said Russia's invasion of Ukraine requires a "European answer to this watershed".

The bloc needs to reduce its "one-sided dependencies", be it on the economic, energy or defence fronts, he urged, calling for a "geopolitical, sovereign and enlarged EU".

The German leader also underlined that he was "committed to" having the six nations of the western Balkans, Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine accede to the bloc.

"Their EU accession is in our interest," said Scholz.