EU Meeting To Discuss Expansion, Constitution
Matthew Borghese - All Headline News Staff Writer Brussels, Belgium (AHN) - Leaders of the European Union are gathering in Brussels to discuss the future of the bloc. Of prime importance is the rejection of the EU constitution in 2005, and its expansion to include more member states. The 25 current states are divided as to whether to continue a push for a constitution, or to scrap the idea entirely, and continue to subsist as a number of treaties. Currently the EU is in a "period of reflection" after France and the Netherlands rejected the original constitutional bid a year ago. While some want to see the document back on the table as soon as 2008 or 2009, Polish Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz believes, "I am convinced that at this summit, we will simply extend the period of reflection. We will try not to prejudge how long this extension should be." Expansion, or "absorbing" new member states is also at issue. While some states say erecting barriers against growth goes against the unifying principles of the EU, others say to expand the Union into countries such as Turkey, which has a vastly different cultural makeup from Western Europe, would be problematic. The President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, explains, "First of all (it will be) very demanding for [Turkey] but also demanding for us here to be ready to accommodate such an important big country that is seen by so ma |
