The European Union's (EU) enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn discussed the prospects of EU hopefuls' accession to the 25-nation bloc in an address to the Greek Parliament's European Affairs Commitee on Thursday.

Turkey's smooth progress in EU accession talks is linked with its progress in crucial areas such as freedom of speech, and women's and religious minorities' rights, said Rehn.

He said the EU hoped that Turkey, which began membership talks with the EU last year, would fulfill its commitments and fully implement the extended customs agreement it signed in July 2005.

The Commission and the EU Council would closely watch how Turkey implemented the protocol in 2006, Rehn added.

Regarding the Balkans, Rehn said Bulgaria and Romania had made great progress in their EU accession bid, adding that the EU was now primarily focusing on judiciary reform and combating corruption and terrorism.

For Serbia-Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rehn warned that if the two failed to fully cooperate with the International Criminal Court on the issue of former Yugoslavia, the result would be a breakdown in their accession talks.

Source: Xinhua