The European Union should be cautious about making new commitments to countries knocking at its door but should respect existing promises to membership candidates, the EU's enlargement chief said on Thursday. "The European Commission's view is that we have to be cautious with regard to new commitments in enlargement, but at the same time we need to stick to existing commitments," Commissioner Olli Rehn told Reuters hours before an EU summit. The statement reassured Bulgaria and Romania, which signed the accession treaty with the EU in April. It would provide hope for Turkey and Croatia, with which the bloc had promised to start accession talks. "The main message to the candidate countries is: meet the criteria literally, fulfil the conditions to the last letter so you don't give any reason or excuse to anybody to slow down the process," Rehn said. But it could be worse news for countries such as Macedonia, whose membership bid the EU is reviewing, and for other Balkan countries -- Serbia-Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania -- with which the 25-nation bloc signed agreements that could one day pave the way for membership. --More 1804 Local Time 1504 GMT
