President of the European Council António Costa has sought to reassure EU candidate countries in the Western Balkans by saying that the continent's future stability and prosperity depends on the enlargement of the bloc.
Speaking ahead of a tour of the region, Costa promised them that the EU was dedicated to relaunching the accession process, which has stalled of late, in part due to the hesitation of member states.
In an exclusive interview with Euronews, Costa also urged candidate countries to commit to reforms.
At the heart of his mission to the Western Balkans is the need for Brussels not to lose strategic control over a key region.
"Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sped up the accession process for Ukraine and Moldova, so it is not fair to the countries of the Western Balkans to be overtaken by Ukraine and Moldova, and this will push them to move faster with reforms," he told Euronews on the eve of his diplomatic tour of the six Western Balkan countries.
The European Council president's first stop will be Serbia, a country that has been mired in political crisis for several months.
The same day, Costa will also visit Bosnia-Herzegovina, before meeting both Montenegro and Kosovo's heads of state and government on Wednesday.
The following day he will visit Northern Macedonia. His final stop will then be Albania, where he will take part in the European Political Community (EPC) summit on Friday in Tirana.
