Government confirms it is prepared to compromise on EU labor issue

The government will consider accepting curbs on the free movement of Polish workers within the European Union (EU) to speed up membership talks, deputy Foreign Minister Danuta Huebner has said. "The previous Polish government had opposed the EU position on the issue. Our Cabinet will seek a compromise," she said. Huebner, who is also head of the European Integration Committee, declined to confirm that a final decision had been taken, as some sources have claimed, adding that it should come in mid-November. "Various options will be considered to find a compromise acceptable to everyone," she told a news conference yesterday. According to unofficial sources quoted by Gazeta Wyborcza, persuading Germany and Austria to shorten the seven-year ban they are demanding will prove a hopeless task. Other EU members, however, may agree to open their borders to Polish workers immediately after the enlargement, or two years later. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 20; Reuters) M.K.