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European Council

The provisions for the enlargement criteria are more about making it clear that the existing criteria—the Copenhagen criteria—will be properly adhered to. One has to be practical about it, and when a small country is coming into the European Union, the criteria are still important and legally enforceable, but it is not the same as when a very large country is joining. What Europe is signalling is that after a period of very rapid enlargement, in which 12 new countries joined, it wants to ensure that the essential criteria are kept in future. I happen to be a supporter of Turkey’s membership of the EU and I will continue to support it, but it knows very well that in order for it to join the EU those criteria will have to be met.