Poland joins the coalition to maintain EU budget expenditures

The confidential meeting in the residency of the Spanish ambassador in Brussels was held on Sunday night with the participation of Poland, nine other EU new members, as well as Portugal and Greece. The coalition will act against the proposed limitation of the EU budget by the big six, which plan to decrease expenditures below 1% of GNP between 2007-2013. According to sources, Poland is backing Spain, but is avoiding outright full support after the disappointment related to the EU Constitution. "Sweden is not interested with pumping money into Andalusia. Its interest depends on motorways in Poland and better infrastructure in the Baltic states," said one of Sweden's diplomats in Brussels. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, B1) M.M.