HELSINKI — Finnish President Alexander Stubb proposed expanding the European Union's membership to encompass 40 states during a public address in Helsinki. Stubb named the U.K., Canada, Turkey, Norway, and Iceland as potential candidates to join the 27-nation bloc.

"European strategic autonomy or European geopolitical power is often based on size and scale and I think the best European policy ever has been European enlargement," Stubb said. He pointed to current global events as a catalyst for reconsideration. "The window of opportunity for E.U. enlargement is quite short because when the war in Ukraine ends and perhaps when the U.S. administration changes, I don't know, then people are going to take their foot off the gas pedal and start heckling about unnecessary stuff again."

Stubb called for flexible arrangements to reach the target number. "In this moment, we need to think big and geographically, we need to enlarge or at least create memberships which are flexible enough to bring in a sum total of 40 European states — or even non-European," he said. Regarding specific nations, Stubb asked, "Wouldn't it be lovely if Canada was the 28th state of the European Union rather than the 51st state of the United States?" He also stated, "We need to think seriously about Turkey." Stubb added, "No one is talking about Turkey anymore, and we need to open our minds to understand that at least from a security perspective, Turkey needs to be as close as possible."

The E.U. is pursuing an expansion process with nine candidate countries currently seeking entry. Montenegro and Albania are considered leading candidates among Western Balkan nations. Ukraine and Moldova are progressing toward opening formal E.U. membership talks. The U.K. left the E.U. in 2020.

Iceland applied to join the E.U. in 2009 but suspended talks in 2013. Iceland's parliament voted to hold a referendum on Aug. 29 regarding whether to begin E.U. accession talks. Former Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir addressed the potential move. "If a majority of the people wants to apply, it is very important to listen to that majority, but I haven't changed my position," Jakobsdóttir said. Norway has twice rejected E.U. membership but is reconsidering its relationship with Brussels as geopolitical competition between the U.S. and China continues.

No independent assessment of Alexander Stubb’s claims was available.