Brussels - European Union foreign ministers Monday formally approved Albania's application for membership of their club. Albanian President Bamir Topi and Prime Minister Sali Berisha applied to join the EU on April 28, but its actual membership is likely to take years.
The next step involves the EU's executive, the European Commission, deciding whether the country is ready to start membership talks.
"The (European) Council (of foreign ministers) reaffirms that the future of the Western Balkans lies in the European Union," ministers said in a statement.
"It is noted that a country's satisfactory track-record in implementing its obligations under a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA), including trade related provisions, is an essential element for the EU to consider any membership application," ministers said.
In its latest enlargement report, the European Commission noted that Albania has made encouraging progress over the last year.
However, the country needs to do more to fight corruption and strengthen the independence of the judiciary and produce "tangible results" as regards the fight against organized crime, drug trafficking and money laundering.
