Irish rejection of Nice Treaty met with both pessimism and optimism

Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs Brian Cowen promised yesterday during the EU foreign ministers' meeting held in Luxemburg that the government will make all efforts possible to insure that the referendum rejection of the Nice Treaty will not hinder EU expansion. Yet European political figures have a variety of opinions on the matter. French President Jacques Chirac thinks that rejection of the treaty will not slow the process, while Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson is not so optimistic. Danish Prime Minister Paul Nyrup Rasmussen expressed a view similar to Chirac's after yesterday's meeting with Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, who was on one-day visit to Copenhagen. Rasmussen expressed hope that at the EU summit in Goteborg, Sweden on Friday the EU members would issue a clear signal in this regard. Denmark will head the EU for half of next year, and Rasmussen stressed Danish ambitions to conclude negotiations with candidates. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A6)