The European Commission’s new enlargement strategy offers support for Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia - but insists they must step up reforms and fully embrace EU values if they hope to join.

The European Commission launched its new enlargement strategy for the Western Balkans on Tuesday, offering help for all six EU aspirant states but insisting that all the membership hopefuls implement reforms and make a clear commitment to the “fundamental values” of the European bloc in return.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic received on Wednesday in Belgrade EU Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn.

During a joint news conference after the meeting, Vucic pointed out that chapter 35 in EU membership negotiations - that concerns Kosovo - "exists only for Serbia - it did not exist for any other country."

You were expecting a welcome mat? Here’s a bucket of cold water instead.

The European Commission’s new strategy for the Western Balkans holds out the prospect that two countries from the region, Serbia and Montenegro, could “potentially” be ready to join the EU by 2025. It also offers increased support for the four other would-be members from the region that was engulfed by war and civil strife in the 1990s.

European Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Commissioner, Johannes Hahn told Tanjug news agency it is still too early to speak how the legally binding agreement between Serbia and Kosovo would look like.

What matters is the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia on how their future co-existence could be, Hahn said.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Tuesday EU's enlargement strategy for the Western Balkans "considers Serbia as a leader."

According to her remarks published by the Serbian Government, Brnabic also "noted that Serbia will continue to implement reforms faster, while regional cooperation will still be a priority."

Serbian Minister of Defense, Aleksandar Vulin said in Belgrade that the process of stopping the “Great Albania” must start in Kosovo and Metohija, Serbian media reported.

Vulin made these remarks in a roundtable, held within the framework of internal dialogue on Kosovo, adding Serbia must not allow the creation of “Great Albania” on its borders and to let others define its borders.

Jean-Claude Juncker says that 2025 is not the year when Serbia and Montenegro "would have to" join the EU - but rather "an indicative date, an encouragement," Tanjug news agency reported.

Juncker said it was wrong to represent him and the European Commission as having said that Serbia and Montenegro must be in the EU by 2025.

"That is an indicative date; an encouragement so that the parties concerned work hard to follow that path," he said," the EC president said in Strasbourg before the unveiling of the EU's enlargement strategy.

Spain’s stance that Kosovo cannot be part of the Western Balkans enlargement process remains, the Embassy of Spain to Serbia told Politika daily.

Asked, if it means that the EU enlargement strategy for the Western Balkans would be adopted without consent from Madrid, the daily was told that Spain does not take part in adopting the strategy.

The Embassy added, it is a document of the European Commission that would be presented today and “then a debate would follow,” Serbian media reported.

The EU will on Tuesday officially unveil its enlargement strategy for the Western Balkans, which has been speculated about for days.

It will be heard today whether any dates will be mentioned.

Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Martinovic says his country "wants to see Kosovo in the EU and in NATO."

Markovic spoke for the Pristina-based RTK ahead of his trip to Kosovo on Tuesday.

The prime minister said Montenegro's government "had vision" when it decided to recognize unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo - despite the fact that, as he said, "85 percent of citizens were against that."