BRUSSELS, April 14. /TASS/. Leaders of several EU countries oppose debates on admitting new members, fearing this could revive rhetoric about "Polish plumbers" and play into the hands of populists and the far right, Politico reported, citing nine European diplomats and officials.

According to the newspaper, governments are primarily concerned due to the "fear of political blowback" for any leader who brings potential EU members into national debates, three diplomats and one senior EU official involved in the enlargement process said.

Capitals do not want to see a repeat of the "Polish plumber" debate that took place in many EU countries ahead of 2004 enlargement of the European Union. At that time, some politicians claimed that Poles would take high-paying jobs in Western Europe. "The same semi-populist, semi-xenophobic arguments we heard about the Poles, we are likely to hear with the Ukrainians and any other candidate," a European diplomat said.

Such concerns are particularly strong in France, which is legally required to hold a referendum on the admission of any new member. Similar sentiments are also evident in Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy. A vote on Ukraine, in particular, could play into the hands of the campaign led by Jordan Bardella, leader of the French right-wing National Rally party.

The issue of admitting new members to the EU was expected to be included on the agenda of the informal EU summit on April 23 in Nicosia. However, under the current circumstances, "it is now unlikely to feature," one of the senior EU officials involved in preparing the meeting said.