EU splits over Turkey

Divisions have emerged within the European Union over the recent invitation to Turkey -- rejected by Ankara -- to join a new standing conference on EU enlargement.

Speaking at the NATO meeting in Brussels, both the French foreign minister, Hubert Vedrine, and his Italian counterpart Lamberto Dini, criticised their EU partners for attaching conditions to the invitation.

Mr Vedrine said France regretted that the EU "was not able to formulate a more open and intelligent proposition." However the German foreign minister, Klaus Kinkel, said the offer was a fair one.

He said the EU could not have more and more squeezed out of it.

Turkey is angry that it is not yet considered a candidate for EU membership.

But it says this will not affect relations with NATO and it remains committed to its expansion.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service