EU accession 'best way' to ensure stability in Western Balkans, says EU's Costa

European Council President Antonio Costa reaffirmed Monday EU enlargement as a political priority, calling accession to the bloc the "best way" to ensure peace and prosperity in the Western Balkans.

"The enlargement to the Western Balkans is a clear political priority for the European Union," Costa said in a joint media statement with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in Brussels.

Commending Albania's progress on its EU path, Costa said a new cluster of accession negotiations was being opened Monday and added that the aim is to open additional cluster negotiations within the year.

"It (enlargement) is our real commitment with the region, and it is the most important geopolitical investment -- for peace, for prosperity, and for stability on our continent."

He went on to say that this development is not only important for Albania but also for the entire continent, underlining: “The best way to ensure prosperity, peace and stability in the Western Balkans is through European Union accession."

To support this process, Costa announced plans to visit all six Western Balkan countries in May “to enhance our cooperation and our common efforts to have a good result in this accession process.”

"More than ever, it is very important that we are all together, united, because united we are stronger, and the world needs a stronger Europe,” he added.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said he was pleased to discuss his country's EU path and the upcoming European Political Community summit, which will be held in Tirana on May 16.

"There is a lot to discuss but overall, I'm very, very encouraged by these developments," Rama noted, referring to the opening of the new negotiation cluster on Monday.

He also reaffirmed Albania's commitment to meeting all the requirements on schedule and said the country is “very ambitious” to complete accession negotiations by 2027.