Wednesday’s deal must be reconfirmed by parliament and EU states, which is considered a formality.
Dutch MEP Thijs Reuten, who led the European Parliament team negotiating the new entry rules, spoke of a “very important moment” for Kosovo’s “European future”.
Also on Wednesday, Kosovo officially applied for EU membership. Formally, the country only has a “prospect for EU membership”. The main obstacle to EU rapprochement is that five EU member states – Spain, Romania, Slovakia, Greece and Cyprus – do not recognize Kosovo as an independent state.
Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, but is still considered a breakaway territory by Belgrade.
Currently, seven countries are considered candidates for EU membership: Turkey, Ukraine and Moldova – plus North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania in the Western Balkans. Bosnia and Herzegovina will be added to the EU summit on Thursday. It can take years, if not decades, before all countries are included.