EC head Prodi hints that no EU accession dates will be discussed before 2002

Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov in Warsaw to discuss Gazprom pipeline Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov arrived yesterday in Warsaw on a two-day visit to discuss Gazprom's plans to link Western Europe and Russia with a gas pipeline running through Poland. The Polish side objects to the project since the route will bypass Ukraine, whom Poland considers an important ally "Too many emotions have been stirred due to the gas pipeline from Russia to Western Europe," says Ivanov. (Rzeczpospolita, p.A1, Reuters) A.Z. European Commission (EC) head Romano Prodi suggested yesterday in Brussels that the EC will not be ready to discuss European Union accession dates with candidates until the end of 2002. The European Commission met with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who said that given the current state of accession negotiations, no timetable for EU expansion can be given. "We are unable to determine when [Poland] will be ready to join the EU." Prodi qualified this statement by saying that at the end of 2002 the EC will be able to answer questions about who will join the EU. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p.10)