As Turkey's stalled bid to join the EU club virtually grinds to a halt, Britain and allies Tuesday led a counter-charge to open the door to further expansion in the interests of added economic leverage. "We need to be bold, we need to be true to the vision which inspired the enlargement process," said Britain's Europe Minister David Lidington on joining talks in Brussels over the path to enlarging the 27-nation bloc.
Swept up in a tide of financial turbulence and hard-hitting austerity constraints, the prevalent mood within the European Union instead seems weary and inward-looking. While a draft statement seen by AFP, which is under discussion by the ministers, "reaffirms the strong support of the EU for taking the enlargement process forward", diplomats privately admit the taste for expansion is fast fizzling.
"Enlargement is off the radar, it's all about small steps now," said a diplomat. After ushering in 10 new members in 2004, the EU now realises it may have been hasty in taking in Bulgaria and Romania in 2007, said another diplomat. "The club has tightened the rules and is dragging its feet, which is frustrating for candidate countries."
But at issue for Britain and allies Sweden, Finland and Italy, is essentially Turkey's stalled stab for entry, which they see as holding back potential for the bloc's economic growth. Though Turkey began accession talks as far back as 2005, at the same time as Croatia, it lags far behind the Balkan state which hopes to wind up negotiations next year and join in early 2013.
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