France warns no treaty, no EU enlargement

By Francois Murphy and William Schomberg

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union should forget about adding new member states until it has resolved Ireland's rejection of a treaty designed to overhaul the bloc's institutions, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday.

But the prime minister of Slovenia, the current holder of the EU presidency, said the impasse created by Ireland's referendum last week should not slow the process of enlargement.

Turkey and Croatia are currently negotiating their accession to the European Union, with several other countries in the Balkans forming a queue to join too.

Sarkozy has long expressed his opposition to Turkey joining the bloc, even if the prospect remains many years away.

"No Lisbon (Treaty), no enlargement," he told reporters on Thursday, at the end of a first day of an EU leaders summit in Brussels dominated by discussions of the Irish vote.

The Lisbon Treaty was agreed last year by leaders after years of wrangling over how to make the EU more manageable but needs approval by all member states to come into effect.

"I would find it very strange for a Europe of 27 (countries) that has trouble agreeing on workable institutions to agree on adding a 28th, a 29th, a 30th, a 31st, which would definitely make things worse," Sarkozy said.

France is due to take over the EU presidency on July 1.