The EU inched closer to a deal today enabling the 15-nation bloc's historic enlargement deep into ex-Soviet territory as Turkey begrudgingly accepted a delay to its own long-running membership drive.
Germany, the European Union's traditional paymaster, said an extra €1 billion was on offer to meet the demands of the 10 candidate countries including the biggest, Poland.
Provided the last-minute haggling with Poland could be overcome, leaders of the 15-nation EU were to declare an emphatic end to Cold War divisions by extending membership invitations at a summit here to the 10 hopefuls.
"Our common wish is to make Europe a continent of democracy, freedom, peace and progress," leaders of all 25 nations were set to announce, according to a draft statement.
"The Union will remain determined to avoid new dividing lines in Europe and to promote stability and prosperity within and beyond the new borders of the Union," the statement said.
"Our aim is One Europe."
But a new fault-line opened up after the EU leaders rejected a push by key US ally Turkey to start EU accession negotiations next year.
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the leaders last night agreed to decide only in December 2004, on the basis of an evaluation of Turkey's reform progress, whether to start the membership talks.
Turkey's initial reaction was furious but was tempered later with Prime Minister Abdullah Gul vowing to stay on track to join the EU by pushing through far-reaching reforms.
Poland, the most populous of the 10 candidates hoping to join on May 1st, 2004, was also talking tough as it sought to extract a better deal for its millions of farmers.
But German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said the extra €1 billion, along with €300 million for other deserving cases among the candidates, provided grounds for a breakthrough.
The EU summit in Copenhagen agreed to stump up €40.42 billion to finance enlargement over 2004-2006, taking in Cyprus and Malta as well as former Soviet bloc states the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
The deal, which equates to about €25 for every citizen of the current EU, still needs the approval of the members-in-waiting.
Most of the candidates had either agreed or were near agreement, although Poland and the smallest would-be EU state Malta were holding out to the last.
There had been hopes that the showpiece gathering in the Danish capital could see a deal to end the 28-year division of EU candidate Cyprus.
But the Greek-Cypriots said the last-ditch talks here brokered by the United Nations had ended without an agreement with their Turkish-Cypriot rivals.
AFP