Germany’s Baerbock says European Union will be ‘vulnerable’ unless it enlarges

Berlin: Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has said the European Union must enlarge to avoid making everyone on the European continent more vulnerable.

“Putin’s Moscow will continue to try to divide not only Ukraine from us, but also Moldova, Georgia and the Western Balkans,” Baerbock said in a speech.

“If these countries can be permanently destabilised by Russia, then that also makes us vulnerable, it makes us all vulnerable. We can no longer afford grey areas in Europe,” she added.

Baerbock’s comments came as she hosted 17 foreign ministers from EU and candidate countries, including Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba, for a conference in Berlin focused on EU enlargement.