'EU enlargement to continue'

The enlargement of the European Union will continue despite voters' rejection of the EU Constitution in France and the Netherlands, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said yesterday.

"We are certainly aware of the 'enlargement blues' among Europe's public, which played a role in the referenda," Mr Rehn told reporters in Brussels.

"We (will) continue enlargement policy by underlining the need to stick to the criteria of accession to the last letter and better communicating to our citizens the overall balance sheet of enlargement," he added.

The double "No" vote has raised doubt in some quarters about whether the EU will go ahead with planned membership talks with candidates Turkey and Croatia.

Romania and Bulgaria are the next countries scheduled to join the 25-member bloc, in January 2007, and Mr Rehn said they were lagging in implementing judicial reforms and he would send them formal warnings.

"The early warning letters will focus on evident current shortcomings in reforms in both countries," he said.

But he insisted there was no question of suspending the process of enlargement because of the French and Dutch votes.

"Rumours of the death of EU enlargement policy are evidently exaggerated," he said. "I have not yet registered as unemployed nor closed the shop."