President Kwasniewski marks Independence Day with call for early EU entry

The 83rd anniversary of Poland's regaining of its independence was celebrated across the country yesterday. At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw the occasion was marked by a military parade and a salute of guns, attended by top government officials. "The sooner we become a part of the European Union, the sooner we will have a vote on matters that concern us. There is no better future for Poland than a future in the European Union," president Aleksander Kwasniewski said during a speech. Following a march past by soldiers, police officers and border guards, the president, prime minister and other government representatives laid flowers at the statue of Jozef Pilsudski, the first leader of independent Poland in 1918. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A3) A.K.