EU backs strict expansion rules

Keeping membership rules tight will reassure the public, say EU leaders

European Union leaders have agreed that aspiring members must meet its tight entry criteria but said there should be no new obstacles to future expansion.

During the Brussels summit, 25 heads of government also endorsed a decision to partially suspend talks with Turkey.

The EU leaders underlined that the country must comply fully with all the membership criteria before it can join.

The two-day meeting is also expected to discuss reforming EU institutions ahead of further expansion.

New members Bulgaria and Romania will join on 1 January 2007.

EU leaders agreed that they are not willing to bend the rules on membership, a move that correspondents say is intended to reassure sceptical voters.

"The criteria must be strictly adhered to [...] the Union is not setting any new obstacles, we are not closing any doors, " said Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen.

Earlier, the German chancellor said it would be a "historic failure" if the EU did not agree a constitution by 2009.

Angela Merkel said her government would work intensively towards this goal during Germany's six-month presidency of the EU, which begins in January.

Capacity to act

Arriving for the summit, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the leaders needed to agree on the reasons for enlargement.

This meeting is likely to make it tougher for new countries to join without breaking any existing promises Mark Mardell BBC Europe editor Leaders tackle EU future

He said they should aim for consensus on "why enlargement is important for Europe and how we should do it in a way that reinforces the European capacity to act."

The EU took on 10 new members in 2004, and another two - Bulgaria and Romania - are due to join on 1 January.

"The important issue is the problem if... we want to have our house in order before accepting new inhabitants," said Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker.

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the EU had to put greater emphasis on "the capacity of the EU to take in new member states".

Ms Merkel said the EU had to have tough controls to ensure any new members met the entry criteria.

"I am not saying this as a threat but as an incentive for countries that want to join," she said.

'Turkey problem'

Now we can have this general debate about enlargement without this Turkey problem Matti Vanhanen Finnish PM Q&A: EU enlargement

The summit comes after EU foreign ministers decided on Monday to partially suspend accession talks with Turkey, because of Turkey's failure to open its sea and air ports to EU-member Cyprus.

Mr Vanhanen, who is chairing the summit, welcomed the fact that it would now be possible to have a general debate about enlargement "without this Turkey problem".

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi is expected to propose a softer line towards Serbia, after talks on closer ties were halted earlier this year over Belgrade's failure to arrest war crimes suspect General Ratko Mladic.

Correspondents say other countries in the region, including Slovenia, Slovakia and Hungary, would also back a resumption of the Serbian talks.

However, the summit's draft conclusions say only that Serbia "remains welcome" to join the EU.

Home affairs veto

The draft conclusions also keep open the idea of member states dropping their veto in justice and home affairs at some point in the future, in order to strengthen the fight against crime and terrorism.

Correspondents say Finland may ask the leaders to agree in principle that dropping the veto is the best way forward.

But the UK, Germany and the Netherlands are expected to oppose the proposal.

UK Home Secretary John Reid said last week that most member states wanted to keep the veto, and that the idea should be scrapped.