BALKANS: Heads of state from across central Europe and the Balkans urged the European Union yesterday to continue expanding eastward, despite doubts among some member states about the political and economic wisdom of further enlargement.
At a summit of 15 leaders in Zagreb, Croatia's president Stipe Mesic led calls for Brussels to look past short-term interests and unite around "European values".
"The integration process has no alternative, and it must not be stopped or thrown in doubt," said Mr Mesic, leader of Croatia's bid for membership before 2010.
"The border of Europe is not set by this river or that . . . but rather by the final outreach of European values, tradition and culture," he added. "Europe . . . is inconceivable without Russia and - let's be frank - hardly to be imagined without Turkey."
Even with five new members of the 25-nation EU represented, the summit took place in the shadow of the French and Dutch rejection of the bloc's proposed constitution, and divisive wrangling over its budget for 2007-2013.
Many opponents of the constitution fear that further eastward expansion would only drive more companies to the former Soviet bloc, where wages, land, property and tax costs are far cheaper than farther west.
But even one of the treaty's fiercest critics, Czech president Vaclav Klaus, said it "would be a tragic mistake if the enlargement process stopped because of the Union's internal problems."
The meeting took place as Olli Rehn, the EU's enlargement commissioner, warned Bulgaria that it had a lot to do to join the bloc on schedule in 2007.
That came as Sofia announced the approval of a law tightening a legal system that has allowed organised crime gangs to accumulate great wealth and influence in Bulgaria.
