Commitments Need to Be Met by the EU as Well as the Candidates, the 12 Candidate Countries Agree

Vilnius, 14 September - Chief negotiators and senior officials of the twelve candidate countries negotiating EU membership met in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 13-14 September, reinforcing their commitment to pursue their internal preparations for EU membership. The participants expressed expectations that the EU will be in a position to admit new member states from the end of 2002, according to the plans set out at the Helsinki summit. The participants of the meeting also underlined the importance of consistency, predictability, and momentum of the enlargement process.