Serbia, Montenegro May Join EU by 2025 – EU Parliament President

"I believe that Serbia and Montenegro can become members of the European Union by 2025," President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani told reporters.

In February 2017, the European Commission released its strategy for the Western Balkan countries called "A credible enlargement perspective for an enhanced EU engagement with the Western Balkans," setting a number of goals that should be achieved by the candidate countries in order to complete the accession process.

Apart from Serbia and Montenegro, the Western Balkan states of Albania and Macedonia are also official candidates for EU membership. Each candidate country must negotiate the terms of its accession with the current member states and align their domestic legislation with EU law before joining.

READ MORE: Presidents of Montenegro, Kosovo Sign Joint Statement on Border Agreement

Serbia and Montenegro already received candidate status for the EU membership since 2012 and 2010, respectively, while Bosnia and Herzegovina formally submitted its application for the EU membership in 2016.