EU leaders set to slam brakes on further expansion (Roundup)

By Shada Islam and Leon Mangasarian Dec 14, 2006, 18:21 GMT

Brussels - European Union leaders on Thursday were set to slam the brakes on further expansion amid growing public hostility to taking in new and poorer members, including Turkey and western Balkan states.

'There is a certain enlargement fatigue so we have to cope with that,' said Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU Commissioner for External Relations in remarks at the beginning of the EU's annual two-day December summit.

A draft communique to be issued at the meeting hammered home the new go-slow on expansion policy. 'The Union will refrain from setting any target dates for accession until the negotiations are close to completion,' it said.

This will reduce pressure on current EU states to rush through the entry of new members by setting unrealistic deadlines. Many EU members believe it is wrong to allow Romania and Bulgaria to join the Union on January 1, 2007 given their still slow pace of reform in a few crucial areas.

A crisis over Turkey's bid to join the EU - triggered by Ankara's refusal to open transport links with EU member Cyprus - was defused earlier this week, with the bloc agreeing to partially freeze membership talks.

But the row over whether to admit Turkey, a mainly Muslim nation with a population of 70 million, highlighted a growing rift over how far east the soon-to-be 27-nation EU's boundaries can be extended.

The draft communique only papers over simmering differences which have split the EU into pro and anti-enlargement camps.

Britain, the Nordic countries and EU newcomers such as Poland strongly back further enlargement of the Union.

However old EU members Germany, France, The Netherlands and Luxembourg are wary of additional expansion in general and are especially opposed to Turkish membership.

'We are not going to enlarge only for political reasons,' said Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot.

In an apparent jab at Britain, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said he wanted more focus on reinforcing relations among existing member states.

'What bothers me is the clear attempt of some to back enlarging the EU on the one hand while on the other blocking EU deepening,' he said.

Bowing to Juncker - who as longest-serving EU head of government has special clout - the summit draft conclusions insist the pace of future enlargement must take into account the capacity of existing member states to absorb new members.

Many current EU leaders fear the high cost of taking in more poor and mainly agricultural states which would pose a high financial burden on the bloc.

Opinion polls show that many Europeans fear rising competition from low-cost eastern labourers both at home and abroad. There is also concern about the flow of EU funds to poorer eastern countries and worries that a too-large bloc will become increasingly difficult to manage.

The tougher EU stance includes warnings that future expansion can only take place once the bloc has a new constitution.

But disagreement is likely at the summit on the future of the constitution which some countries, including The Netherlands, want to bury but others - including Germany which takes over the EU presidency next January - would like to resurrect.

Voters in France and The Netherlands rejected the constitution in 2005. This torpedoed the treaty which must be approved by all member states to enter into force.

With constitution discussions stalled, Croatia is unlikely to meet its goal of joining the EU in 2009 and Macedonia is not expected to be given a date for opening entry talks.

The enlargement slowdown will disappoint western Balkan states - Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo - which are clamouring to enter the bloc. The new approach also effectively puts a lid on EU entry aspirations harboured by Ukraine and Georgia.

Other summit issue include plans to curb illegal immigration, energy security and persistent fears that Europe is losing the global competitiveness race not just to the United States and Japan but also to China and India.