Austria backs Poland's stance on Nice

Following talks with Prime Minister Leszek Miller, Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schussel ensured on Friday that Austria is in full support of Poland with regard to the voting system that was agreed in the Nice Treaty. It means that, Austria, next to Poland, Spain, Estonia, Malta, and unofficially Sweden, now claims that it is better not to change the balance of power that the European Union agreed upon in December 2002. At a press conference, Schussel admitted that Austria and Poland have similar stands with regard to the EU rotating presidency, as well as the issue of "one commissioner for each country". Austrian journalists asked Miller whether Poland will block the final decision made at the Intergovernmental Conference scheduled for December. "I hope that under the Italian presidency it will be possible to conclude the conference in the envisaged time, but apart from that the quality of the decision is vital as well," Miller replied. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A7) A.Z.