Buzek to make pitch to Brussels for swift end to enlargement negotiations

During his six-hour visit to Brussels on Thursday, Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek will urge European Union officials to speed up Poland's accession negotiations to the 15-member west European alliance. In particular, Buzek will outline his government's plans to have negotiations on all chapters opened by the end of this year, with Poland's EU membership set to begin on January 1, 2003. Brussels' officials, however, say this is an unlikely date for enlargement, naming instead 2005 as a more realistic time-frame. Buzek will also tackle the issue of energy trade during his meeting with top EU officials, including president Romano Prodi. (Zycie, p.6; Reuters) M.K.