President and Foreign Minister defend stance on EU Constitution

During a conference at the Presidential Palace which was held as a result of a letter sent to national and foreign publishers, and signed by 200 Polish scientists, politicians and people from the world of culture, concerning Poland's stand on the future of an integrated Europe, President Aleksander Kwaśniewski, together with Foreign Minister Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, declared that Poland is one of the few candidate countries where the issue of the future of the EU is widely discussed. The letter was strongly criticized by numerous politicians who recognized it as an attempt to question Poland's stand on the issue of the EU Constitution. "In this debate, and that also concerning the issue of Nice, the whole point is the vision of a common Europe, in that whether the voice of the EU will be a truly joint and united one, or only of two or three large countries," said Kwaśniewski, defending Poland's position. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 4) A.K.