Slovenian President Borut Pahor called on the European Union to speed up the process of accepting the six countries of the Western Balkans, calling it a decisive step for maintaining stability in the region, Reuters reports.

Europe and the United States say the Western Balkans, including Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, will eventually join the EU.

After a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Pahor said that the EU enlargement to the Western Balkans was a geopolitical necessity, but the region should jointly move towards EU membership.

The process of joining the membership slowed in 2019 after France and the Netherlands opposed it due to a lack of efforts to improve democracy and fight corruption.