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12/14/06

Financial Times: EU to start closing doors to the east - by George Parker and Daniel Dombey

FT.com / In depth

"EU to start closing doors to the east - by George Parker and Daniel Dombey in Brussels

European Union leaders will on Friday evening toughen up the rules on eastward expansion of the club, in an admission that public opinion in the west has turned sharply against taking in new members.

The rigorous new EU membership rules will be a dispiriting signal to countries such as Turkey, Serbia and Bosnia, which already believe their road to accession is littered with obstacles. However, a two-day European summit in Brussels will confirm that the Union will honour its offer of membership to Turkey and the countries of the western Balkans when they are ready – and if the EU is ready to take them in."

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