EU accused of blackmailing Poland into speeding up accession process

In what Polish experts are describing as "blackmail", European Union (EU) officials have said that Poland will be responsible for any delays in accession negotiations with all candidate countries. Last month Polish negotiator Jan Kulakowski was told by Belgian ambassador to the EU, Frans van Dael, that any delay on the Polish side would have a negative impact on the situation for other candidate countries. The alternative would be Poland's withdrawal from the first group of candidates. This, however, would be regarded by Belgium as a political fiasco for the entire EU expansion process. Another senior EU official commented, "Poland is the biggest and key country in the EU expansion process. Its position is an exceptional one." Analysts say that should Poland fall out of the first group, Germany and France might block the entire EU expansion process, bringing it to a virtual halt. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 26) J.K.