30/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - At the General Affairs Council's press conference, Louis Michel explained that Ministers had again discussed the future Convention, which would pave the way for institutional reform, as well as the weight of the "candidate countries" once they were part of the Community. He said that Ministers had decided to place countries into three categories: (1) Member States, whose members fully participate in EU work; (2) Candidate Countries that have progressed significantly in negotiations and who "will participate in the consensus qualification" as soon as they have finished negotiations; (3) Other Candidate Countries who cannot take part in discussions. Whilst taking into account the respective timetables for negotiations, it wouldn't be until the final stage of the convention that a small group of countries would be able to participate in establishing the consensus, the difference of which, as one observer remarked, could constitute an additional incentive to candidate countries in accession negotiations.