The EU's enlargement has also made consensus-building more difficult, multiplying the national rivalries and tensions.

BBC: Profile: EU Commission chief Barroso

His statement came as the EU's enlargement commissioner, Stefan Fule, was in Ankara.

ECONOMIST: The Turkish government

The other hosts include Jim Steinberg, America's deputy secretary of state, who was also a figure in the Dayton talks, and Olli Rehn, the EU's enlargement commissioner.

ECONOMIST: Worries over Bosnia