EU leaders have left the door open to new member states following a summit to mark the end of Finnish EU rotating presidency.

"We found the way forward. We did not set any new criteria. The door is still open," Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said after chairing the two-day summit.

Leaders agreed on the need for institutional reforms before taking in further entrants after Bulgaria and Romania join in January.

Leaders also endorsed the partial freeze on Turkey's entry negotiations agreed by foreign ministers on Monday as punishment for the country's refusal to open its ports and airports to EU member Cyprus.

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said the EU needs to reach agreement on a constitutional treaty during the German presidency. Barroso stressed that the EU remains committed to enlargement.

In addition, the Heads of State or Government welcomed Romania and Bulgaria to the EU as new members with effect from 1 January 2007. Their accession will conclude the Union's fifth round of enlargement.

"Bulgaria went a long way to join the EU,'' Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev said during the summit. "I am confident it was worth it.''

Romania and Bulgaria clinched membership in the European Union, as the EU set limits on further enlargement by putting the brakes on entry talks with Turkey.

EU leaders ratified a December 11 decision by foreign ministers to suspend talks in eight of 35 policy chapters to penalize Turkey for shutting its seaports and airports to traffic from the Greek-speaking republic of Cyprus, an EU member since 2004.

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