EU SUMMIT:There are sharp divisions over the EU's ability to accept new members, particularly Turkey, writes Jamie Smythin Brussels
EU leaders said yesterday they would take into account the capacity of the EU to integrate new members before future enlargement in an attempt to soothe growing public fears about the expansion of the union.
However, they refused to close the door completely on a number of candidate countries lining up to join the EU - ranging from Croatia and Turkey to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - at the start of a two-day summit in Brussels.
Just days after EU foreign ministers agreed to partially suspend Turkey's membership talks with the union, French presidential aspirant Nicolas Sarkozy threatened to end Ankara's membership talks if he was elected next year.
At a meeting of European conservative leaders before the leaders' summit, Mr Sarkozy urged Ankara to work towards a privileged partnership with the EU instead of full membership.
"You know my reticence on the subject. And I'm happy to see that these ideas are gaining ground," Mr Sarkozy told reporters at the meeting, which traditionally is held a few hours before all 25 EU leaders meet.
A German participant later told the media that Mr Sarkozy had said privately he would veto the talks.
Britain, Turkey's strongest supporter in the EU, said there should be no watering down of the EU's commitment to negotiate membership.
In their discussions, EU leaders focused on toughening up the criteria used to admit new members of the union and reiterated the need for institutional reform of the EU before any future enlargement.
At a dinner that stretched late into the evening, debate focused on how far the EU should take into account its ability to absorb or integrate states before admitting them into the union. Certain member states, such as Austria, France and Germany, want to link future enlargement to the EU's ability to function financially and institutionally.
However, states such as Britain, Sweden and Finland have fought hard to keep open the prospect of membership, arguing that this is the best way to persuade neighbouring countries to reform and remain politically stable.
Meanwhile, EU leaders rebuffed an attempt by Hungary and Italy to get a firm commitment to restart Serbia's talks on a stabilisation and association agreement with the EU - a first step towards becoming a formal candidate to join the union.
The EU suspended the talks in May in an attempt to pressure the Serbian authorities to find and arrest the war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic, citing Belgrade's lack of co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia.
Hungary and Italy have been pushing for the EU to relax its stance on the suspension of the talks, but no firm decision was reached in talks with Serbian president Boris Tadic prior to the start of the summit yesterday.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said that Serbia was very welcome in the EU but only after it began co-operating with ICTY.
"After elections, if the new government shows resolve to co-operate with the International War Crimes Tribunal, negotiations will resume," he said.
Italian and Hungarian diplomats are anxious that the EU should offer concessions to Serbia in the light of a decision expected shortly on the status of Kosovo. They fear any decision to offer Kosovo independence from Serbia could provoke an angry response from Belgrade.
Meanwhile, Britain objected to attempts by Finland and several other member states to press for the removal of the national veto over justice decisions in the official conclusions of the summit.
Ireland, Britain and Germany have led opposition to Finland's attempt to move towards qualified majority voting on issues such as police and judicial co-operation. Finland argues that the need for unanimous decisions in the field is hampering the EU's ability to act.