Conflicting reports over speed of EU integration under new government

In a bid to stave off any further support for Euro-sceptic parties due to the new parliamentary dynamic, the European Union is likely to seek compromise in many chapters of membership negotiations, high-ranking EU officials yesterday told Rzeczpospolita daily. According to the paper, as early as autumn, a compromise in the most symbolic chapters is possible, such as over restrictions for foreigners' acquisition of property and the right to work in EU countries after accession. After repeated gloomy forecasts from the EU enlargement commissioner Guenter Verheugen, who for months kept saying, "we face a historic chance of EU enlargement toward the East but this chance will not be for ever", yesterday diplomats admitted that "Verheugen's blackest scenarios are coming true", stressing a need for the EU side to take the initiative. On the other hand, rumors in Brussels indicate optimism that with the new leader Leszek Miller, Poland will stay focused on fast integration with the EU. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B2, Gazeta Wyborcza, p.6), M.T.