51.   The leaders of the EU nations and of EU candidate countries will hold their annual meeting in Cannes, France next week.

52.   The meeting in Helsinki is the only meeting during the Finnish Presidency where candidate countries are present.

53.   The top candidate countries are Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Malta and Cyprus.

54.   The survey was carried out in the candidate countries simultaneously with the United States and in Moscow, where respondents also supported expansion, but by a slimmer majority.

55.   This report, along with assessments of other candidate countries, will be presented to EU leaders at a December summit in Helsinki, Finland.

56.   Verheugen was in Riga to address leaders from EU candidate countries.

57.   Given these difficulties and the benefits of hitching their currencies to euro, several candidate countries are keen to begin planning to adopt the euro as soon as possible.

58.   He visits Slovenia as part of a tour of EU candidate countries.

59.   However, each candidate country should proceed at its own pace, he stressed.

60.   However, the government pointed out that local farmers have limited access to the European market and to assistance available to other candidate countries.