Hongaarse minister vindt dat uitbreiding EU te snel gaat (en)

By agreeing to take on ten new member states at once, the EU has given itself too big a task, according to Hungarian foreign minister Laszlo Kovacs.

Speaking to the German Süddeutsche Zeitung, the Hungarian minister, whose country will be among those joining on 1 May, said that he always felt that "enlargement should be a step by step process".

Mr Kovacs called the original decision in 1999 to negotiate with 12 countries - including Romania and Bulgaria - at the same time "not very wise".

"I thought that was a mistake because the EU 15 cannot digest 12 new countries at once".

The foreign minister also spoke out against a two-speed Europe, the threat of which has been hanging over the Union since talks on the Constitution failed last month.

"We are completely against this", he said. Until now the EU's success has been because it has allowed the new member states to catch up. A Europe of two speeds would rob them of this chance, argued Mr Kovacs.

"With all probability, the new [member states] would be in the second league".

He also said that he shared the "legitimate concern about the dominant role of the large countries".

Each country should enjoy that same rights irrespective of their size or when they joined the EU.