Merkel says EU treaty deal good for enlargement

...opens the way for further enlargement of the 27-nation bloc.

"Only through the fact that we have a good chance of having a new treaty in 2009 is the path open for further enlargement," she told a news conference after EU leaders clinched a deal to launch negotiations on a new treaty.

Croatia and Turkey are negotiating for membership and Macedonia has received candidate status. But several member states had said further expansion would not be possible until the EU reformed its creaking institutions, designed for a six-nation community.

Keywords: EU TREATY/ENLARGEMENT