EU executive to propose extra cash, market access for countries hoping to join

FILE PHOTO: European Union flags fly outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman//File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will shortly propose that the EU give more cash to countries that want to join and offer them access to the single market to speed up their membership preparations, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said.

Eight countries currently have official EU candidate status - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine - while two, Georgia and Kosovo, are potential candidate countries.