Proposed European Union referendum on expansion rebuked by politicians

The proposal of the European Union (EU) Enlargement Commissioner Gunter Verheugen to organize a referendum in the EU countries on whether to accept East European countries shocked many foreign diplomats. At a Monday meeting with German ambassadors German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said, "East European countries may be sure that a quick extension of the EU borders further East lies in the economic interest of Germany." According to the Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Pawel Dobrowolski the proposal of Verheugen does not pose any threat to the status of Poland. (Gazeta Wyborcza, page 8)