The participants in an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Salzburg confirmed their full support to the Thessaloniki agenda from the 2003 summit and the Stabilisation and Association Process which remains the framework for the European path of western Balkan countries. The EU confirmed that the future of Western Balkans was in the European bloc.
The EU recalled that a debate on enlargement should be held in 2006, as decided by the Council of the EU on 12 December 2005.
The EU said in a joint statement that "absorption capacity" must be factored into any expansion decision.
The participants agreed that progress of each country towards the EU still depends on individual merits in meeting conditions and requests from the Copenhagen criteria and the Stabilisation and Association Process, including full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, said the joint statement.
At the Salzburg meeting, the EU ministers decided to include EU membership as the ultimate objective.
The European Union praised the Western Balkans Saturday for their economic and other reforms to date, reiterating they remain on course to join the union someday if they stay the course.
In the statement, the EU adopted Croatia's proposal to establish a free trade zone through the enlargement of the Central European free Trade Agreement (CEFTA).
The EU will continue to assist western Balkan countries through practical measures so as to make the European prospect tangible, the statement said. The participants in the Salzburg meeting encourage regional cooperation, including the establishment of a free trade zone through CEFTA, the statement said.