Kosovan Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced that his country intended to make an official application for EU membership by the end of the year.
He said this at a news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday.
Kosovo, which had been an independent country since 2008, currently only had the status of a potential candidate in the EU.
Formerly a province of Serbia, the population of Kosovo is now majority Albanian.
Serbia continued to claim Kosovo as its own territory and five EU members – Spain, Greece, Romania, Slovakia, and Cyprus – have not recognised Kosovo as an independent state.
Scholz is on a two-day tour of five of the Balkan states.
The Kosovan capital of Pristina was the first stop before he travelled on to Belgrade later in the day.
