EU in No Hurry to Accept New Members into Community

The European Union is now afraid to accept new members, Politico reports.

European officials are most concerned about public reaction. They say discussing EU enlargement could increase discontent among the people and, as a result, play into the hands of right-wing parties.

Some countries fear a repeat of the "Polish plumber" debate—that is, cheap labor replacing high-paid workers in Western Europe.

However, there's another economic factor: new, poorer countries may receive more from the EU budget than they contribute, which also fuels discontent.

It's noted that EU enlargement was on the agenda of the Cyprus summit, scheduled for late April, but the issue is now unlikely to be brought up.