I am pleased to announce that the Government of Greece and Foreign Minister George Papandreou will host the Fourth Meeting of the Regional Table of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. The meeting will be held on 16 December in Thessaloniki. Foreign Minister Papandreou will open the meeting.

The Regional Table will review the achievements of 2002 and approve the Stability Pact's strategic goals for 2003. It will also discuss the future role of the Stability Pact in the context of the post-enlargement debate.

A provisional agenda together with further technical information, including registration forms, will be sent to you at a later stage. Please note, however, that the format of the Regional Table will be 1+2.

I look forward to fruitful discussions in Thessaloniki.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Erhard Busek