Denmark opens presidency with warning to Ireland

Denmark’s Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned Irish voters today not to reject an EU treaty again because they risk delaying the Union’s eastward expansion ‘‘for years to come’’.

Fogh Rasmussen’s government assumes the EU presidency next week.

‘‘There is no Plan B,’’ Fogh Rasmussen said. ‘‘If the Nice treaty is not ratified, we risk postponing EU enlargement for years to come.’’

‘‘We have a historic opportunity to unite our continent. We cannot afford to miss it,’’ he said in Copenhagen.

54% of Irish voters voted against the Treaty of Nice in a referendum last year.

Tomorrow, Denmark will unveil its agenda for the second half of the year, when it chairs the EU.

The top priority will be ending almost three years of membership talks with Cyprus, Malta and eight East European nations.

Agricultural subsidies are the main bone of contention, since the expansion would include nations with very poor regions. Some current members fear any expansion will take funds away from their farmers.

A second referendum could be held in October, and the final approval of Cyprus, Malta, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania as members beginning in 2004 may come at a December summit in Copenhagen.