EU: French prime minister Dominique de Villepin reiterated French concerns over EU enlargement yesterday and said Turkey's bid to join the union was a process whose outcome must remain open until the end of negotiations.
He also said that the EU must resolve its institutional crisis by deepening European integration and joining in more common projects before it expanded further.
Mr de Villepin, who has emerged as a leading presidential contender, said a new debate on enlargement should decide that membership must not be the only solution to neighbouring countries. The current process of enlargement must also be carefully monitored and conditional on compliance with the EU's criteria, he added.
Mr de Villepin made the comments in a speech at the "Sound of Europe" conference in Salzburg, which yesterday celebrated the 250th anniversary of the birth of the composer, Mozart.
He said the rejection of the proposed EU constitution by France and the Netherlands had delivered a major setback to the European integration project. Europe was experiencing an identity crisis, with many citizens now questioning the purpose of EU integration prompted by years of enlargement, he added.
"No political entity can be built on a movement of rapid and continuous expansion whose limits are uncertain," said Mr de Villepin, who is expected to push for a major EU-wide debate on enlargement some time during the present Austrian presidency.
His comments suggest states such as Ukraine will face an uphill battle to join the EU. He also played down the prospects of Turkey joining the union.
"It is finally a process whose outcome must remain open until the end of the negotiations," he said, reiterating that the final word would remain with the French people in a referendum to decide on whether Turkey should join.
Mr de Villepin also said further political integration of the EU was necessary before future enlargement, particularly in areas such as the harmonisation of taxes. Ireland and Britain fear that French plans to move towards closer EU integration, possibly with pioneer groups of states taking the lead, could leave them isolated.
European commissioner in charge of communications Margot Wallstrom said the EU would have to create jobs and modernise a social Europe, as well as shape its borders before it got back to the question of the EU constitution. The EU was a political project, and citizens must be free to decide its future.
"This is a sine qua non condition if we want to create a bond among nation and people, which is stronger than that in the current EU," she said.