The European Parliament overwhelmingly adopted the report on the future enlargement of the European Union drafted by the Chairman of the Committee for Foreign Affairs Elmar Brock.

The document on the future EU enlargement strategy presented late on Wednesday was approved by 397-95 votes, 37 abstained.

During the deliberations, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said that the European Commission had consolidated the enlargement agenda laying the emphasis in the direction of Southeast Europe: Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Croatia, as well as other countries in the Western Balkans.

He reiterated Brussels' stance that new commitments ought to be considered carefully before being made, but once made, they ought to be carried through, and added that the bloc's enlargement should match the Union's capacity to enlarge.

Austria's Foreign Minister Ursula Plasnik pointed out that the reports on Bulgaria and Romania's progress en route to the bloc are "encouraging." She underlined that although the countries from the Western Balkans have achieved much, there was still a difficult road ahead.

The adopted report is critical of the limitless expansion of the EU, as prepared by centre right MEP Brok. It urges EU member states to consider "absorption capacity" before agreeing to take on new countries.

"The stalemate in the ratification of the European constitution is preventing the EU from enhancing its absorption capacity", says the report of Brok, who presides over EP's foreign affairs committee.

A parliamentary response to a commission enlargement strategy paper from last year, the Brok report also asks the EU executive to formally set out the principles of "absorption capacity" - its capacity to welcome new members.

During the discussion Brok supported the continuation of the European project affirming it as EU's most efficacious instrument for peace and stabilisation on the continent.

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