The European Commission believes that 10 candidates countries recommended to join the European Union in 2004 will be able to withstand competitive economic pressure in the bloc, a Commission report says.
They are Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovania and Slovenia, said a draft report by the EU executive, Reuters reported today.
The report, due to be issued on Wednesday, upgraded Bulgaria, a candidate to join the EU in 2007, to the status of a "functioning market economy" capable of coping with EU market forces in the medium term.
It said Romania, another candidate for membership in 2007, had not yet reached the status of a functioning market economy but that its prospects were improving.
The commission paper was more cautious on Turkey, for which it gave no target date for accession. It said the Turkish economy had made progress but "is still undergoing the consequences of two deeply destabilising financial crises".