The Eurosystem should be prepared to advise these countries in pursuing appropriate structural reforms and stability-oriented policies in line with accession and convergence criteria. The Eurosystem should stand ready to provide technical assistance to accession countries. The accession process implies a significant body of preparatory work on the part of the central banks of the applicant countries.
This work may be facilitated by external technical assistance. Equal treatment should be a key feature of the accession process. Objective and uniform criteria should apply both to accession, and to participation in ERM II and adoption of the euro.