Flag of Montenegro is raised during a ceremony to mark the accession to NATO of Montenegro at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Vidal
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Commission said on Tuesday that the EU could welcome new members as early as 2030 as it praised Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Moldova for their progress on reforms needed to join the bloc.
The Commission also criticised Serbia for slowing down its reform process. It accused Georgia of "serious democratic backsliding" and said the former Soviet republic was now considered a candidate country "in name only".
