Poland risks EU wrath by delaying visa requirement for eastern neighbors

Poland announced plans yesterday to impose a visa requirement on visitors from its eastern neighbors Russia, Ukraine and Belarus in July 2003, resisting pressure from Brussels to shore up its border quicker. The European Union (EU), which Poland aims to join in 2004, wants candidates to introduce EU-style visas for tourists from the three ex-Soviet states as quickly as possible so that the system functions properly upon accession. Poland, which following enlargement would control the EU's eastern-most frontier, says it does not want to "turn its back" on its neighbors and create animosity by toughening up travel restrictions too early before accession. "Our new visa policy is based on maximum delays in introduction, maximum availability of the visas and maximum ease of crossing borders," government spokesman Michal Tober told a news conference. Tober said the government would defend its proposal, but conceded it may be forced to change its plans during EU entry talks in Brussels over the coming months. (Reuters)