Poland complains about exclusion from leadership of forum on EU reform

Poland joined other candidates for European Union (EU) membership in p rotesting yesterday about their exclusion from the presidium of a landmark convention on the future of Europe. The candidates had been invited to take part in the year-long work of the forum that is to recommend ways to reform the EU when it is expanded to 28 members from the current 15. But after Britain and Ireland were given the two seats reserved for national par liamentarians on the 12-seat presidium guiding the convention's work, Sejm speaker Marek Borowski wrote a letter of protest to convention president Valery Giscard d'Estaing. Jozef Oleksy, who is chairman of the Sejm's EU committee, commented, "They have snatched this seat from us. The spirit of equality is not being respected." (Reuters)