The European Commission will next week recommend that 10 candidate countries join the 15-nation EU in 2004, but that Turkey be kept out for now, an official said yesterday.
The European Union's executive arm will next Wednesday recommend the entry of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, the EU source said.
But Turkey's long-running bid to join the world's biggest trading bloc looks likely to stay on the back burner, partly out of human rights concerns.
Bulgaria and Romania, the poorest of the aspirants, will miss out on the first wave, with 2007 the earliest date for their entry, according to officials.
Wednesday's reports will be discussed by the EU states at a Brussels summit in October, which will set the stage for a December summit in Copenhagen.