Nato applicant countries have vowed to press on with reforms after the Prague summit that is expected to lead to the alliance's largest expansion after the Cold War.

Applicants

Albania Bulgaria Croatia Estonia Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Romania Slovakia Slovenia

At their summit in the Latvian capital, Riga, the 10 applicants looked forward to Nato's decision and hailed their contribution to the war on terror led by the United States - the country spearheading the campaign for a large expansion.

Not all of the 10 countries, known as the Vilnius Group, are seen as having an equal chance of succeeding with their application.

It is thought that the three Baltic nations, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, as well as Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania are the most likely candidates.

De facto allies

"We recognize that we are in the midst of an historic endeavour, not only to defend our democracies from the threat to our freedoms posed by terrorism, but also to build a Europe that is truly whole and free," the meeting's final declaration said.

"We set for ourselves the goal of acting in solidarity and as de facto allies - toward each other and toward those Western institutions we aspire to join," it added.

"The conference gave a clear message that we really made progress in different aspects of the preparations," said Latvian Prime Minister Andris Berzins.

Leaders vowed to continue reforms

"We should take our share of responsibilities in world affairs. We welcome the obvious readiness of the US and other allies to proceed with a robust enlargement," he said.

Mr Berzins said the aspirants had proven their credentials since 11 September by acting as "de facto allies in the fight against terrorism".

In order to become members, Nato has been demanding that the applicants function militarily within the alliance, and share the same democratic values as existing allies.

It is particularly concerned about issues such as corruption, political stability and public support for Nato.

President Boris Trajkovski of Macedonia - a country that alongside Albania and Croatia is said to be unlikely to join in this wave - said "no part of Europe should be left isolated because of its geography, history or monetary instability".

"This historic decision should take into account long term and strategic considerations," Mr Trajkovski said.

Spreading security

The US has been the driving force behind the prospective push into eastern and southern Europe.

It sees the inclusion of countries such as Romania and Bulgaria into Nato as the spreading of a zone of collective security, into areas that otherwise could prove unstable.

We set for ourselves the goal of acting in solidarity and as de facto allies - toward each other and toward those Western institutions we aspire to join

Andris Berzins, Latvian Prime Minister

On Friday, President George Bush addressed the Riga summit via a video link saying he hoped enlarging the alliance towards the east would help the international campaign against terrorism.

After this conference the Vilnius nations will be monitored in the build up to the Prague summit, to measure their individual abilities to fulfil the obligations of Nato membership.

This scrutiny will continue after invitations are issued to some of the countries.