Finland aims for new consensus on EU expansion

HELSINKI, June 21 (Reuters) Finland aims to build a new consensus for European Union enlargement during its presidency of the bloc in the second half of the year, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said today.

While making progress on the stalled EU constitution will also fall to Finland when it succeeds Austria on July 1, enlargement and accession negotiations with Turkey will be the main issue, Vanhanen said in a speech to the Finnish parliament.

''Turkey's and Croatia's membership negotiations and the situation in the western Balkans will keep us very busy during the presidency,'' Vanhanen said.

The issue of further expansion has divided the bloc, with growing reticence in western Europe to absorbing new aspirants -- particularly Turkey -- since French and Dutch voters rejected the European constitution in referendums last year.

The EU will finalise the timetable in October for the accession of Romania and Bulgaria, either next January or in 2008 depending on their progress in reforms, and Vanhanen said European leaders would discuss further expansion in December.

''Finland aims to reach a new consensus on enlargement then,'' he said, adding that all aspirants should be treated equally.

''The rules have to be the same for everybody and every candidate country has to be treated based on its own merits.'' The European Commission is due to present a report later this year setting a definition of the EU's capacity to absorb new members, intended to set some objective financial, economic and institutional benchmarks for future accession decisions.

But the debate may be overshadowed by a crisis with Turkey if Ankara sticks to its refusal to open its ports and airports to traffic from EU member Cyprus.

Vanhanen also said Finland would also try to ensure improved relations between the EU and Russia, Helsinki's huge eastern neighbour with which it shares a 1,300 km (810 mile) border.

''The goal is to make Russia more committed to European cooperation,'' he said.

''Relations should not only be restricted to trade and energy, but to have broad partnership in which European values and global interests bring us together.'' Brussels has been trying without success to persuade Moscow to open its energy transit pipelines to third parties. EU member states have also expressed concern over the Kremlin's moves to strengthen its grip on the Russian media and economy.

Finland will also make integrating European justice and home affairs policies a centrepiece of its presidency, he added, taking up a major programme launched the last time it held the EU chair in 1999.

REUTERS KD PM2045