Presidency-holder Austria wants debate on enlargement

The European Commissioner for Enlargement, Finland’s Olli Rehn, says that now is not the right time to launch a debate on where to draw the borders of the European Union.
      Austria, which currently holds the rotating EU Presidency, is one of the most reticent member states with respect to enlargement.
      "Now is a good time to avoid an existential discussion on the borders of Europe. The focus should be, instead, on raising the West Balkan region to its feet", Rehn said after meeting with Finnish journalists on Thursday.
      As Rehn sees it, an enlargement debate would focus largely on Ukraine, which has not yet submitted a membership application to Brussels.
      EU enlargement is set to continue in the coming years, in spite of the opposition of the citizens of many member states. Romania and Bulgaria are expected to join the EU in the next couple of years, after which Croatia is hoping to get in.
      Commissioner Rehn notes that all European states meeting certain requirements that have been set under EU treaties have the right to apply for membership.
      He adds that the values that a country subscribes to define Europe’s borders more than geography does. According to Rehn, the Mediterranean Sea forms a clear EU border.

A Eurobarometer survey conducted in the autumn indicates that 49 percent of respondents in the 25 member states of the EU are in favour of further enlargement. Support for enlargement was highest in Greece, where 74 percent were in favour of taking on new members.
      Opposition to further enlargement was greatest in Austria, where only 29 percent wanted a larger European Union. In Finland, support for enlargement was below the European average - 45 percent.