Kosovo to apply for EU membership status
Serbia continued to claim Kosovo as its own territory and five EU members Spain, Greece, Romania, Slovakia, and Cyprus had not recognised Kosovo as an independent state.
Kosovan Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced that his country intended to make an official application for EU membership by the end of the year.
He said this at a news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday.
Kosovo, which had been an independent country since 2008, currently only had the status of a potential candidate in the EU.
Formerly a province of Serbia, the population of Kosovo is now majority Albanian.
Serbia continued to claim Kosovo as its own territory and five EU members Spain, Greece, Romania, Slovakia, and Cyprus had not recognised Kosovo as an independent state.
Scholz is on a two-day tour of five of the Balkan states.
The Kosovan capital of Pristina was the first stop before he travelled on to Belgrade later in the day.