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EU Leaders Make Final Efforts for Expansion Pledge
The summit meeting of the European Union (EU) entered into the second and final day without producing a clear timetable for accession of 12 candidate countries mainly from central and eastern Europe.
In a draft document on efforts of the summit in Goteborg, Sweden's second largest city, the leaders "confirmed breakthroughs in the (accession) negotiations and agreed on the framework for the successful completion of the enlargement."
The EU leaders said all negotiations will be open before the end of June with some of the candidate countries that started entry talks only last year.
They agreed that the enlargement process is irreversible despite Ireland's rejection of the Treaty of Nice for the expansion plan reached by EU leaders in last December through tough bargaining.
However, they set no date for when qualified candidates could conclude their talks with the EU because of strong opposition from France and Germany.
The EU's two big powers were holding out against setting a firm date to finish entry talks for the most advance countries by the end of 2002 as many EU members and candidates hope for. While observers here believe the most promising candidates may join as early as 2004.
"There is a consensus ... to send a signal to the applicant countries that we want to go ahead with the enlargement process," said Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson during the summit.
Sweden, current EU presidency, was struggling to find a solution to the impasse.
The EU is negotiating entry terms with Estonia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Latvia and Lithuania.
As EU's 13th candidate, Turkey is so far not allowed to join the entry talks, but the EU leaders at the summit has confirmed the "good progress" Turkey has made in implementing the pre- accession strategy, including "an enhanced political dialogue."
The Goteborg summit is being held here Friday and Saturday after a biannual EU-U.S. summit Thursday.
During the meetings, the leaders were also greeted by crowds of anti-capitalist protesters from many parts of the world.
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