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Milatovic said Montenegro wishes to become the 28th member state by 2028, and pledged to keep up the pace of reforms.

“Our country is proud to have the status of a front-runner in European integration,� he said.

Montenegro and Albania have been at the forefront on the membership path while Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo and North Macedonia are lagging.

The EU’s willingness to accept new members since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, amid fears that the conflict could fuel instability in the Balkans.

Costa said the “enlargement is the most important geopolitical investment in the stability, peace and prosperity in the Western Balkans, and the whole of Europe."

Montenegro is the smallest of the Western Balkan countries with just over 600,000 people. It has been a NATO member since 2013 when it defied Russia, its traditional ally, to join the Western military alliance.

Costa also visited Kosovo to urge top local officials to make “real and tangible progress� in the the dialogue to normalize ties with Serbia.

“This will come to the benefit of your European path and ultimately the lives of Kosovo’s people," he said at a news conference with President Vjosa Osmani.

The EU and the United States have urged Kosovo and Serbia to implement agreements reached two years ago that include Serbia’s obligation to provide de facto recognition of Kosovo and a commitment by Kosovo to establish an Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Most Western nations recognize its sovereignty, but Serbia and its allies Russia and China don’t.