European Parliament President David Sassoli has called for allowing the Western Balkan states into the European Union, calling enlargement a "positive project for peace and prosperity," the dpa news agency reported on Sunday.

“Enlargement can bring immense benefits both to the region and to Europe as a whole, helping to secure a stable, prosperous and peaceful continent,” the Italian politician Sassoli told the Funke Mediengruppe on Sunday, as carried by the dpa news agency.

The dpa recalls that western Balkan aspirants for the EU membership include Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.

“Reforms still need to be completed in every single one of these countries.” But the European Union must also keep its promises and recognize progress, he said.