EU states agreed on Wednesday to back Albania's application for eventual membership of the European Union, a step in a long process towards joining the bloc, an EU diplomat said.

He said ambassadors from the 27 EU states had decided to ask the executive European Commission to prepare an assessment of Albania's readiness to start membership talks.

The decision is expected to be approved by EU foreign ministers at a meeting in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday.

Albania applied to join the EU in April. If it is allowed to start membership talks, it will be required to carry out political and economic reforms to meet EU standards, a process that can take years.

Reuters

Güncelleme Tarihi: 12 Kasım 2009, 11:03