"We began this mandate with three
candidate countries and witnessed accession negotiations with
two of them, as well as two that had been waiting for years to
do so. Today, we have nine candidate countries, four of which
are already negotiating, three of which have been given the
go-ahead, and we have a clear agenda as well as the necessary
tools to accelerate reintegration," said European Commissioner
for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi as he opened the proceedings of
the annual 'EU meets the Balkans' forum in Sofia.
"This means bridging the economic and social gap between the EU
and the candidates, even before enlargement actually occurs.
This is a significant shift that should lead us to the point of
no return: the next Commission should be an enlargement
Commission that welcomes new members at the end of its mandate
because it is unavoidable and necessary," Varhelyi added.
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