Verheugen has encouraging words of support for Poland's first-wave entry

EU Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen on Friday sent his strongest signal so far that Poland would be among first-wave candidates to enter the 15-nation alliance in the next several years. "A mini-enlargement [without Poland] is a theoretical and useless debate," explained Verheugen, "because Poland is not behind the other candidates. Our problems with Poland are not structural, they merely reflect the size of the country." Verheugen said further that "from today's point of view, there is no reason to say Poland will not make [the first wave]." Verheugen stressed however that all EU hopefuls still face challenges toward membership, saying reform of administrative and judicial systems would prove a particularly hard task. (Reuters)