Albania has become the fifth European nation to be knocking on the EU's door as it officially presented its membership application.

Albania's Prime Minister Sali Berisha submitted the application to Czech Prime Minister and President of the European Council Mirek Topolanek during an official ceremony in Prague earlier this week. The ceremony was also attended by the European Commission's Director General for Enlargement Michael Leigh.

Earlier this year, Albania was accepted to join Nato and is now seeking to enter the EU, although this process is expected to take years, probably more than a decade.

The Albanian Prime Minister thanked the Czech EU Presidency for the support shown so far, saying 96 per cent of Albanians were in favour of joining. EU membership was a priority for both the government and Opposition, he said.

In June, Albania will hold parliamentary elections. Both Mr Topolanek and Mr Leigh stressed that a free and equitable electoral process and the rule of law were of key importance for Tirana to move closer to the EU.

"Today, Albania has reached a historical milestone marking the country's important engagement to common European values and fundamentals," Mr Leigh said in a statement.

The next step is for the Commission to draw up an opinion on whether Albania satisfies requirements for membership, which will eventually have to be approved by all 27 member states.

Albania becomes the fifth country in the queue to join the EU, alongside Croatia, Turkey, Montenegro and Macedonia.

The last enlargement of the EU took place in 2007 when Romania and Bulgaria joined the bloc.