Swedish Prime Minister stops urging EU members to set enlargement date

Swedish prime minister Göran Persson has said he has given up urging other EU countries to set a time limit for EU enlargement, when the candidate states from Eastern Europe will join the alliance. The prime minister cited as one of the main reasons for his decision, concern that Poland might not manage to meet all the requirements regarding EU membership if the expected enlargement was to be finalized sooner rather than later. Western diplomats said the Swedish prime minister's concerns are shared by the German authorities, which do not want EU enlargement to be carried out without Poland. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A1) M. S.-C.