The Western Balkans and Turkey keep getting closer to the European Union: some countries, such as Croatia and Fyrom, "are running faster", others "will need many more reforms", but accession remains a possibility for anyone. Today, the EU Commission adopted the yearly strategy plan on the accession policy, highlighting that "it plays a key role in the strategic interests of the Union in terms of stability, security and conflict prevention". However, Brussels asks to speed up the reforms and to "meet all the conditions that have been laid down" for full accession to the "common house". The Finnish Commissioner Olli Rehn lingered on the cases of Croatia and Turkey. For Zagreb he explained that the last stage of the negotiations "might be completed by 2009", suggesting that it might receive the go-ahead one year later. The judgement of Ankara is harsher: "the pace of negotiations with Turkey will keep reflecting the pace of the reforms that have been started in the country". The document also confirms even if with a different timing the "European way" for Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, and for the special case of Kosovo.
