Poland risks EU disapproval with visa delay for visitors from the East

Chief European Union (EU) accession negotiator Jan Truszczynski said yesterday that Poland could not afford to meet its commitment to introduce EU-style visas for tourists from its three eastern neighbors in 2001. The move, affecting visitors from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, risks delaying Poland's accession talks with the EU. "The introduction of a visa regime is an enormous task," Truszczynski told the European Commission (EC) during negotiations in Brussels. "Poland will not be able to advance substantially...in this area in 2001," he said, adding that for now the budget could not bear the costs of setting up new consulates, hiring more diplomatic staff and installing computers. The travel restrictions, which the EU says are necessary partly to ward off organized crime from the former Soviet Union, are likely to be imposed in 2003, just before Poland hopes to join the EU, a diplomat in Warsaw said. Poland is keen to avoid harming its cross-border trade, which earns several billion dollars for the budget every year. However, the EU expressed unease at the prospect of a visa delay and reiterated its call for Poland to tighten its borders. "This is an issue extremely sensitive for member countries," said Franz van Daele, a senior diplomat from Belgium, which holds the EU's presidency until the end of 2001. "The new visa regime must be introduced before accession," he said. (Reuters)