Bulgaria and Estonia favoured further EU enlargement after January 1 2007, International Herald Tribune reported.

Estonian prime minister Andrus Ansip met in Sofia his Bulgarian counterpart Sergei Stanishev on November 14. After the meeting Ansip said that both countries would like to see the accession of more union members after the entry of Bulgaria and Romania in the beginning of 2007.

"The perspective of further expansion should not be lost," Stanishev said.

At the same time representatives of the European Commission said that enlargement should stop until union institutions are reformed and able to function properly after the 2004 and 2007 enlargements.

Both Bulgaria and Estonia would support the common European constitution, the two prime ministers said.

Ansip said that the accession of Bulgaria and Romania was a positive step. Estonia would keep its labour market open for workers from the two countries, said he.