Irish voters will stop the European Union's eastward expansion in its tracks if they again say no to a treaty enabling the 15 nation bloc to accept newcomers starting in 2004, the European Commission president said today.
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Eruopean Commission President,Mr Romano Prodi
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"There is no back door. There is no Plan B. If Irish voters decide to block it there is no alternative" but to halt the process of the EU's long-awaited eastward expansion, Mr Romano Prodi said in Copenhagen.
"This is why it is so important" for the Irish to ratify the Treaty of Nice that the 15 EU leaders adopted in December 2000, he said.
The Government has not set a date for a second referendum.
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Another Irish no would be a stunning setback to the EU's flagship undertaking of reunifying the European continent after decades of Cold War division.
Mr Prodi spoke after he and other members of the Commission met with Danish Prime Minister Mr Anders Fogh Rasmussen and his cabinet to hand over the reins of the six month, rotating EU presidency.
The Danish leader said his government was "determined to respect the set timetable and to conclude negotiations before the Copenhagen summit in December, because any delay, of even a few months, would set back candidate countries' entry into the EU by several years."
A failure to meet the deadline would be "a historic mistake that Europe cannot allow," Mr Rasmussen said, adding that "the verdict of posterity would be severe for those responsible for blocking enlargement."
The Danish government has not hesitated to dramatise what is at stake, well aware that the road to a successful presidency is full of obstacles.
Apart from enlargement, immigration is expected to be a major issue during the six month presidency. The EU summit in Madrid in June made a start on a common policy to curb illegal immigration which has caused increased concern in the bloc.
EU leaders agreed to crack down against illegal immigration, with the help of the poor nations from which immigrants flee, following the success of the far right in France and the Netherlands in exploiting the issue.
The Danish government has already taken its own domestic measures to crack down on immigration, prompting concern among both the United Nations and other EU states.
AP & AFP