The integration with the European Union is the only way to preserve peace in the Western Balkans, Johannes Hahn, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement has said on Friday, Kosovo’s RTK television reported.

He said he could not set a precise date for the enlargement but added 2025 was very important for the Western Balkans’ European perspective, which, as he said, the EU widely accepted.

“We have to promote economic cooperation and the rule of law in the Western Balkans so that these countries can reach the EU level and have a real chance of joining the bloc,” Hahn said in an interview with the Düsseldorf-based Handelsblatt newspaper.

He added that “2030 would be too far away for the candidate countries to motivate themselves to intensify the efforts.”

Nevertheless, Hahn said, it was clear the commitment to the rule of law and fight against corruption existed in the Balkans.

“2025 is an ambitious, but not an unrealistic goal for the EU membership for the countries which have progressed the most along that road. It means the negotiating process should end by 2023,” Hahn said.

He added that “the EU credibility is also at stake. When the candidate countries meet their obligations, we have to fulfil our promises,” Hahn told the newspaper.