EU:The president of the European parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, warned yesterday that EU enlargement would end unless a deal was found on a new EU treaty.
In a speech to European leaders ahead of two days of talks to find a compromise on a new treaty Mr Pöttering said that no new state could join the union, except Croatia, unless reforms were agreed in a new treaty.
He said: "Let me make one thing crystal-clear: without reforms, as provided for in the constitutional treaty, there will be no new member states in the EU with our agreement, with the exception of Croatia."
In a thinly-veiled threat to Poland, Mr Pöttering warned: "Today and tomorrow you will be deciding not least on the prospects of the western Balkans and perhaps, one day, on those countries such as Ukraine."
Warsaw is one of the strongest supporters of EU membership for Ukraine within the union while many other member states do not want to admit the large eastern European state.
Mr Pöttering said that the current EU treaty, called the Treaty of Nice, provided no adequate basis for successful and constructive co-operation between 27 member states - and much less so for further enlargements.
Outlining numerous "red lines" in the talks, he also warned Britain's Tony Blair not to undermine provisions giving the EU a more influential role in foreign affairs.