Only the full integration of the Western Balkans serves the continent's best interests, Bosnia's prime minister Denis Zvizdic said Thursday in Prague, attending the Visegrad Group – Western Balkans meeting.

“We need to maintain the momentum of the EU enlargement and to maintain the advantage gained through reforms aimed at implementing the EU acquis and reaching the Union's standards through the constant strengthening of regional cooperation and neighbourly relations,” Zvizdic said during his speech.

During the meeting hosted by the Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, he reiterated that the Western Balkans has no alternative to the European perspective and that the EU enlargement policy is the joint and only guarantee of regional stability, the rule of law and its economic prosperity.

The Visegrad Group (V4), is a cultural and political alliance of four Central European states – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, that are members of the European Union (EU) and NATO, and the aim of the group is to advance their military, cultural, economic and energy cooperation along with furthering their integration in the EU.

The V4 prime ministers are meeting with the prime ministers of the Western Balkans countries to reinforce their commitment to the region and its EU perspective.

“Further development of transport, energy and digital infrastructure, as well as improving the overall connectivity in the Western Balkans, as well as the Western Balkans’ connectivity with the EU, are key factors for development and employment and will certainly bring direct benefits to regional economies and citizens,” Zvizdic noted.

He concluded that constant cooperation and connectivity between the Western Balkan countries should be the priority of all the regional governments and that further improvement of neighbourly relations should serve as the best path for establishing mutual trust.