After Romania and Bulgaria are admitted, a period of consolidation will follow, but it must not be an excuse for closing the door to countries like Croatia and Western Balkan countries, Barroso said at the meeting "Europe at the Crossroads - Challenges of the German EU Presidency".
Barroso went on to say that he expected Germany to give a strong impulse to the process of adoption of the EU constitution.
German Chancellor Merkel repeated once again her wish that the crisis with the ratification of the European constitution may be resolved before the elections in spring 2009. She said that a constructive draft of the EU constitution should be submitted already during the German EU presidency, in the first half of next year.
The Berlin meeting was organised by the state TV station ZDF.