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EU to Recommend 10 New Members
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union (news - web sites) headquarters will recommend Wednesday that 10 eastern neighbors be invited to join the continental body in 2004 in its most ambitious expansion ever.
However, the European Commission (news - web sites) will recommend that Turkey's application be kept on hold — a move that will displease Ankara and Washington.
The European Commission will not recommend a date for beginning entry talks with Turkey until Ankara further improves its economy, finances and human rights, according to the draft report on the EU's post-Cold War eastward expansion.
The United States, however, wants the EU to be more welcoming to Turkey because Washington considers it a loyal and strategically important Muslim ally in the war on terrorism.
The EU headquarters opened membership talks with Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia in March 1998 and with Malta, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia in October 1999.
In a report to be issued later Wednesday, the European Commission will recommend that EU leaders invite all those candidates — except Romania and Bulgaria — into the body, increasing its membership to 25.
The invitations are expected to be offered at an EU summit in Denmark in mid-December. After that, national parliaments of the current members and the applicant countries must approve the deal.
The draft of the report said the 10 candidates have made "considerable" progress in recent years to get their economies and legislation in shape for EU membership.
"These countries will be ready for membership from the beginning of 2004," the draft report said, adding that much work remains to be done "in a limited number of specific areas."
While Romania and Bulgaria are democracies, they unlikely will be ready for membership until at least 2007 given their weak economies, the draft said.
Turkey is declared the weakest link because it "does not fully meet the political (or) economic" membership criteria, the report said.
It cites restrictions on freedom of expression, the torture of prisoners and not enough civilian control over Turkey's powerful armed forces that long have been a power behind the throne.
To meet EU norms, Turkey in August granted language rights to minorities and abolished the death penalty. Last February, after a severe financial crisis, Turkey embarked on economic reforms backed by a massive International Monetary Fund (news - web sites) aid package.
The EU now gives Turkey $172 million a year in "pre-accession" aid to help judicial reforms, small businesses and modernize the country's civil service.
The EU head office recommends doubling that amount.
The planned EU enlargement in 2004 parallels the eastward expansion of the NATO (news - web sites) alliance. NATO leaders are to invite Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria to join that alliance in November.
The enlargement of the EU faces some major hurdles, however.
On Oct. 19, Ireland holds another referendum on the Treaty of Nice, which was signed in 2000 and makes it possible for the EU to bring in 10 or more newcomers. The Irish rejected the treaty in June 2001 and a similar vote next week will throw the expansion plan into disarray.
Also, the EU hopes ongoing reconciliation talks between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities to end a 28-year division of the Mediterranean island will lead to all of Cyprus joining the union.
If the U.N.-sponsored reconciliation fails, EU member Greece wants the Greek half of Cyprus to join or it will veto EU enlargement as a whole.
Also, Ankara has warned it may annex the Turkish side of Cyprus if the north is excluded — a scenario with dangerous implications for Greece-Turkey relations.
EU-Turkish relations long have known ups and downs.
Although 96 percent of Turkey lies in Asia, the EU considers it a European nation. Turkey became an "associate member" in 1963.
It formally applied for membership in 1987 but was turned down along with Morocco.
In 1999, the EU leaders declared Turkey a candidate but held off on negotiations while opening talks with the 10 other neighbors.
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union (news - web sites) headquarters will recommend Wednesday that 10 eastern neighbors be invited to join the continental body in 2004 in its most ambitious expansion ever.
However, the European Commission (news - web sites) will recommend that Turkey's application be kept on hold — a move that will displease Ankara and Washington.
The European Commission will not recommend a date for beginning entry talks with Turkey until Ankara further improves its economy, finances and human rights, according to the draft report on the EU's post-Cold War eastward expansion.
The United States, however, wants the EU to be more welcoming to Turkey because Washington considers it a loyal and strategically important Muslim ally in the war on terrorism.
The EU headquarters opened membership talks with Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia in March 1998 and with Malta, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia in October 1999.
In a report to be issued later Wednesday, the European Commission will recommend that EU leaders invite all those candidates — except Romania and Bulgaria — into the body, increasing its membership to 25.
The invitations are expected to be offered at an EU summit in Denmark in mid-December. After that, national parliaments of the current members and the applicant countries must approve the deal.
The draft of the report said the 10 candidates have made "considerable" progress in recent years to get their economies and legislation in shape for EU membership.
"These countries will be ready for membership from the beginning of 2004," the draft report said, adding that much work remains to be done "in a limited number of specific areas."
While Romania and Bulgaria are democracies, they unlikely will be ready for membership until at least 2007 given their weak economies, the draft said.
Turkey is declared the weakest link because it "does not fully meet the political (or) economic" membership criteria, the report said.
It cites restrictions on freedom of expression, the torture of prisoners and not enough civilian control over Turkey's powerful armed forces that long have been a power behind the throne.
To meet EU norms, Turkey in August granted language rights to minorities and abolished the death penalty. Last February, after a severe financial crisis, Turkey embarked on economic reforms backed by a massive International Monetary Fund (news - web sites) aid package.
The EU now gives Turkey $172 million a year in "pre-accession" aid to help judicial reforms, small businesses and modernize the country's civil service.
The EU head office recommends doubling that amount.
The planned EU enlargement in 2004 parallels the eastward expansion of the NATO (news - web sites) alliance. NATO leaders are to invite Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria to join that alliance in November.
The enlargement of the EU faces some major hurdles, however.
On Oct. 19, Ireland holds another referendum on the Treaty of Nice, which was signed in 2000 and makes it possible for the EU to bring in 10 or more newcomers. The Irish rejected the treaty in June 2001 and a similar vote next week will throw the expansion plan into disarray.
Also, the EU hopes ongoing reconciliation talks between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities to end a 28-year division of the Mediterranean island will lead to all of Cyprus joining the union.
If the U.N.-sponsored reconciliation fails, EU member Greece wants the Greek half of Cyprus to join or it will veto EU enlargement as a whole.
Also, Ankara has warned it may annex the Turkish side of Cyprus if the north is excluded — a scenario with dangerous implications for Greece-Turkey relations.
EU-Turkish relations long have known ups and downs.
Although 96 percent of Turkey lies in Asia, the EU considers it a European nation. Turkey became an "associate member" in 1963.
It formally applied for membership in 1987 but was turned down along with Morocco.
In 1999, the EU leaders declared Turkey a candidate but held off on negotiations while opening talks with the 10 other neighbors.
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