"Comment - Dim prospects for further enlargement of the European Union
By Phedon Nicolaides
EVEN before the meeting of the European Union heads of government or state in Brussels on June 16-17, the process of enlargement of the EU was in serious doubt. The negative French and Dutch referenda on the constitutional treaty were interpreted to reveal, among other things, popular opposition to the admission of new members in the EU. Olli Rehn, the Commissioner responsible for enlargement, vainly tried to point out that opinion polls indicated only a small proportion of the French and Dutch voters had any objection to enlargement, in general, and to the entry of Turkey, in particular. So it came as no surprise that the Presidency communiqu�that was released after the end of the summit, referred to enlargement in just a couple of paragraphs and that there was no mention of Turkey at all. However, the communiqu�stated that “the European Council also refers to its conclusions of 17 and 18 June 2004 and of 16 and 17 December 2004 on enlargement and highlights the need to implement them fully.”"
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