The entry requirements are much stricter on Turkey than other members who have recently joined the enlargement. Turkey is rapidly being seen as a huge poor responsibility for the bloc, and questions over whether the mainly Muslim country belongs in the EU at all were raised last month when the French and Dutch both voted "No" on the new European Constitution.
''We have to suspend enlargement at least until the institutions have been modernized,'' French Interior Minister and presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy said on Monday. ''Europe cannot enlarge indefinitely.''
Germany's most likely next chancellor, Christian Democrat opposition leader Angela Merkel has been a known supporter of a "privileged partnership" for the Turks.
Former Dutch Commissioner Frits Bolkestein told Humo the Belgian weekly that, "We have to halt talks with Turkey. People will find that awkward because it has already been agreed, but continuing the talks would be a slap in the face for the French and Dutch voters... The point is, I find Turkey too big, too poor and too different.''
