THE WALL STREET JURNAL

EU Speeds Iceland's Application

BRUSSELS -- The European Union ordered its officials to begin examining Iceland's application to join the bloc just days after it was filed, in a clear sign the island nation will get swift treatment.

The speed of the move was in marked contrast to how some other applications to join the bloc have been handled. The EU still hasn't got back to Albania, which applied four months ago. It took 10 years for Turkey to be declared "eligible" after it applied.
But Iceland is a different matter. .............

EU foreign ministers promised Monday in their statement on Iceland that they remain committed eventually to admitting the countries of the Balkans and that they will return to Albania's application once the country's election cycle is complete. On Monday, Albanian election officials said the party of incumbent Prime Minister Sali Berisha and a coalition partner had won just enough seats in June's election to form a government, following a recount.

The EU often touts the lure of enlargement as its most powerful foreign-policy tool. But the EU -- now 27 members -- has begun to suffer from "enlargement fatigue." As unemployment mounts, few EU governments are eager to tout enlargement's virtues while their own populations fear competition from cheap labor to the east.

The speed of the move was in marked contrast to how some other applications to join the bloc have been handled. The EU still hasn't got back to Albania, which applied four months ago. It took 10 years for Turkey to be declared "eligible" after it applied.

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