Antonio Costa: Albania, Montenegro may enter the EU before others

Enlargement in the Western Balkans is again one of the EU priorities, European Council President Antonio Costa said in an interview for Euronews.

Costa is expected to launch a tour of meetings in the region starting on Tuesday.

Costa has tried to secure EU candidate countries in the Western Balkans, saying the continent's future stability and prosperity depend on the bloc's enlargement.

Speaking ahead of a tour of the region, Costa promised them that the EU was committed to restarting the accession process, which has stalled recently, in part due to the reluctance of member states.

Ukraine's <x0). The invasion of Ukraine from Russia has accelerated the accession process for Ukraine and Moldova, so it is not fair that the Western Balkan countries are exceeded by Ukraine and Moldova, and that would push them to move on faster with reforms”, he told Euronews, broadcast Periscope.

The first stop by the European Council president will be Serbia, followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo on Wednesday. He will then visit Northern Macedonia, while his final stop will be Albania, where he will participate in the European Political Community summit in Tirana on Friday.

European institutions have often defined 2030 as the target date for the first EU membership, particularly Albania, Montenegro and Serbia. However, Brussels is now only talking about Albania and Montenegro.

I don't have a specific date. Why 2030? And why not before? Membership is a process based on merit. If countries carry out the reforms, they may join before 2030. Albania and Montenegro are clearly more advanced than other countries”, Costa said.

However, Russia's war in Ukraine has led to a revival of tensions in the Western Balkans, especially in terms of tensions in Bosnia and Serbia and Kosovo