Brussels, 19/02/2003 (Agence Europe) - Having given favourable opinions in 1993 (Cyprus and Malta) and in 1997 (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Slovak Republic) on opening accession talks, and having negotiated (in the name of the member states) the accession treaty for the ten candidate countries, the European Commission reached the final stage of this latest enlargement procedure by giving a final favourable opinion on the entry of these ten countries on 1 May 2004. The opinion is a pure formality required by Article 49 of the Treaty, which stipulates that the decision of the admission into the EU of the new member states is to be taken by the Council of Ministers, after consultation with the Commission and having obtained the reasoned opinion of the European Parliament (the EP should pronounce on the 9 April). In its opinion, the Commission invites the candidate countries "energetically" to continue the necessary improvements required to remain in compliance with all of the political and economic accession criteria; it also stresses the importance of adopting the entire community acquis. "The Commission will continue to oversee the implementation of the commitments and obligations undertaken by the accession countries, and will assist them with all the instruments at its disposal". The Commission also stressed the "continuous, inclusive and irreversible" nature of the enlargement process, which basically means that the negotiations with Bulgaria and Romania will be carried out on the basis of the same principles as those concluded in Copenhagen with the first group of ten countries. This final favourable opinion means a happy ending to the Commission's intensive work over several years, commented Commissioner Günter Verheugen. The Commission's endorsement is based on the results of the negotiations, which are "good for the current members, good for the future members and good for Europe as a whole", he said.