In Brief: Private TV against TVP; Biedronka's sales up; LNM; EU talks

In comparison with 2002, last year, the leading network of discount stores, Biedronka, increased its sales by 14%, announced Portugal-based group Jeronimo Martins, Biedronka's owner. The launch of 34 new outlets is said to have contributed to the sales increase. (Rzeczpospolita, January 9-10; p. B2) ... LNM is trying to convince the government that they are the best investors for steel mill Huta Częstochowa. According to unofficial information in Puls Biznesu, LNM intends to offer the mill's workers a five-year employment guarantee. (Puls Biznesu, p. 10) ... Poland and France are to return to the negotiating table over the future of the EU Constitution. Once again the French Foreign Minister Dominik Villepine has called on Poland to think from a rational perspective and not form a nationalistic one. (Gazeta Wyborcza, January 10-11, p. 6) A.Z.