That the future for these countries holds the prospect of eventual EU accession is widely acknowledged and has been mentioned on several occasions, for example by the European Council in Feira in 2000 and the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Thessaloniki in 2003. Each of these countries will be invited to join the EU once the accession criteria have been met.
Nevertheless, this group of potential candidate countries still has some way to go before reaching that point. The speed of accession is determined by how quickly countries meet the political and economic criteria. The political criteria require that countries ensure the stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, the protection of human rights and respect for, and protection of, minorities.