Pan-European ESP holds second day of talks in Warsaw

The Party of European Socialists (ESP) held a second day of meetings with their Polish counterparts from the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) and the Labor Union (UP) yesterday in Warsaw. Enrique Baron, leader of the European Parliamentary group, justified the presence of the socialist party in Warsaw by saying that when the Polish left joins the ESP, the latter will become the most powerful party in Europe. The morning debate was largely dominated by EU matters, and the secular aspect of its expansion but also on the agenda were fishing, women's rights and foot and mouth disease. In the afternoon the ESP Council met at the Sejm. The debate was opened by Prime Minister Leszek Miller who stated that capitalism is in need of improvement, saying "The world is not a supermarket in which customers await promotions." Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, from the Danish Social-Democratic Party compared the united Europe to a huge elephant in a world of wolves, while his Austrian colleague Hannes Swoboda concluded that the European left should not speak with many voices, but with one that is united. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A4) A.C.