Eastern, central European leaders talk EU enlargement, Balkan stability

The leaders of 16 eastern and central European countries met in Romania's Black Sea resort of Mamaia on Thursday at the start of a two-day summit on the impact of EU enlargement and Balkan stability. The Mamaia summit is the 11th such gathering since Germany, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic agreed in 1993 to launch a debate on closer ties between the European Union and former Eastern bloc countries. It comes less than a month after their initiative culminated in the May 1 accession of 10 new members to the EU, including eight former members of the Soviet bloc. The second day of the summit is expected to focus on economic and social stability as well as security in the Balkans.