The European Union would ruin its influence in the Western Balkans if it watered down promises that membership was within reach of states there, the bloc's enlargement chief warned on Wednesday according to Reuters. Foreign ministers of the 25-member bloc affirmed in a statement last week that membership should be the "ultimate goal" of the countries of the former Yugoslavia -- provided the bloc had the capacity to absorb the new members. The statement reflected popular scepticism within the EU about future enlargement of the bloc. "If we were to go wobbly about the Western Balkans' European perspective, our beneficial influence, our political leverage, our impact, would be seriously eroded," EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn told the European Parliament. "For the sake of Europe, let's not shake this foundation so that the still fragile Balkans-building will not fall on our own feet," he added. --More 21 57 Local Time 18 57 GMT
