Barroso calls for halt to EU enlargement until constitution is secure

EUROPEAN Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has called for a halt to further expansion of the European Union after Romania and Bulgaria join.

The two countries are expected to be told today that they can join the EU on January 1, 2007.

Mr Barroso said the bloc had to decide on what to do with its embattled constitution before it could accept any new members.

“It would not be wise to proceed with any further enlargement before we have dealt with the constitutional issue,” he said after talks with French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin.

Barroso’s comments put into question the timing of Croatia or Turkey’s accession to the EU.

Meanwhile, the EU is set to permit Romania and Bulgaria to join in 2007, rather than 2008, but it is to propose the toughest entry conditions ever imposed on newcomers.

The mixed message from Brussels reflects widespread public unease with regard to further enlargement of the 25-nation bloc and puts pressure on EU leaders to slam the breaks on further expansion.

Mr Barroso said: “We cannot go on enlarging without clarifying the institutional issues, voting and decision making.”

“Enlargement fatigue” helped to sink the EU constitution in French and Dutch referendums last year, robbing the bloc of a framework for further expansion.

The current treaty provides for a maximum of 27 members before institutional changes are needed.

EU leaders agreed in June to seek a solution for the stalled EU constitution by the end of 2008.

The conditional sanctions for Bulgaria and Romania are meant to reassure critics of enlargement who say the countries are too poor, corrupt and weak, administratively, to cope with EU membership, officials say.