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EU Leaders Reaffirm Expansion Plans, But Set Strict Criteria 
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?r=279&c=749657&l=1009&ctl=155A0BC:A6F02AD83191E160DD240C16CFE13DC69574F7DCC14957C0 Leaders stress
need to reform union's governing treaty, work on efforts to revive EU
constitution after defeat by French and Dutch voters last year
European Union leaders have reaffirmed their determination to continue
the process of expansion while setting strict standards for candidate
nations.







French President Jacques Chirac walks into a final press conference at
the EU summit in Brussels, 15 Dec. 2006 At the conclusion of their
two-day summit in Brussels, the leaders stressed the need to reform
the union's governing treaty and work on efforts to revive the EU
constitution after its defeat by French and Dutch voters last year.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso expressed confidence
for renewal of the process under Germany's presidency in 2007.

The leaders approved the decision of the bloc's foreign ministers to
partially suspend Turkey's entry talks because of Ankara's failure to
normalize trade with Cyprus. They stressed that Turkey and other
candidates must fully comply with existing entry criteria.

Bulgaria and Romania will join the bloc January 1. But other
candidates, including Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia, must wait until
EU countries adopt structural reforms.

The leaders specifically mentioned the importance of Serbia's
cooperation with the United Nations war crimes tribunal as a
requirement for building EU ties.

On other matters, the leaders agreed to move against illegal
immigration, strengthen the EU border patrol agency, and set up a
coastal patrol force to prevent African illegal immigrants from
reaching the shores of member states.

They called for strengthening the EU common energy policy and for
joint efforts to deal with environmental challenges.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.


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