BRUSSELS, May 26 (Reuters) - The European Union sought on Wednesday, May 26, to reassure countries hoping to join the bloc that it would continue to take in new members despite Europe's debt crisis. "The current crisis cannot be an excuse for not continuing our efforts to reunite the European family, notably the Balkan countries," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told a news conference after meeting the Belgian prime minister.
Many analysts have said last year’s recession followed by the current sovereign debt crisis have limited the already small appetite for enlargement as the 27-nation EU struggle to restore order in its economy.
A number of EU countries, most notably Greece, have racked up large budget deficits and are being forced to introduce heavy spending cuts among other austerity measures.
Some EU diplomats confirm privately that enlargement has been put on the back burner and that Croatia may join the bloc in the next few years, unlike other candidates Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey.
"Pre-occupied with its financial troubles, the EU is no longer paying attention to the Western Balkans. As a result it is losing credibility and influence in a region that may slide back towards instability," the European Council on Foreign Relations thin- tank said in a report.
Barroso said the EU would push ahead with enlargement, because there are objective criteria that make countries eligible to join the bloc. "We support those countries on their way towards the EU. We analyse this process on the basis of objective criteria," he said. Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme said his country would carry on with enlargement negotiations during its presidency over the EU in the second half of 2010.
