Sweden agrees to ambitious negotiation timetable, wants to clear obstacles

Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, head of the European Integration Committee (KIE), said yesterday that the Swedish government, which will assume European Union (EU) presidency in two weeks, would accept the Polish proposal of completing 11 negotiation chapters before the summer. However, it is then up to Poland to close negotiations on the most difficult issues within such a demanding timetable. As Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh said, countries negotiating European Union membership should be allowed to join whenever they are ready and not be forced to wait for slower candidates. "When they have finalized one issue they should be able to continue with next chapter without waiting for other countries," she said. (Reuters, Rzeczpospolita Dec. 16-17, p.B1) M.K.