The candidates are counting on the EU's leaders to seal the reforms at the three-day summit. Poland's president, Alexsander Kwasniewski, said this week that Warsaw could be ready by the end of next year, while the Czech prime minister, Milos Zeman, said Prague could end talks early in 2002. No new date is now expected until Sweden, like Britain a keen champion of enlargement, takes over the EU presidency in January. Only then will it begin to become clear whether the EU should admit a few countries quickly or wait to admit 10 countries. Romania and Bulgaria are considered unlikely to be ready to join for a long time.
Turkey is completely off the screen.
Public opinion in member countries remains to be convinced about the benefits of the EU's expanding beyond the former Iron Curtain, and candidate country leaders fear that delayed entry could turn their people against the idea. There will be many fine words in Nice about reuniting Europe, but there is no disguising the fear that the summit will not bring good news for the candidates.