EC head says Poles will participate in EU parliamentary elections in 2004

In an interview yesterday for the Belgian daily La Derniere Heure, European Commission head Romano Prodi, who is scheduled to arrive in Poland on Wednesday for a three-day visit, said that Poles will be allowed to participate in the European Union's parliamentary elections in 2004. "Poland's participation in the elections will come as a victory to [the accession process]. Although some issues like agriculture have yet to be discussed, we've succeeded in making some progress," Prodi declared. The EC chief has said on several occasions that the first wave of EU enlargement would take place during his tenure, that is by 2005. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 9) A.Z.