Visiting Belgian Prime Minister insists EU expansion "risk" has to be taken

During separate talks yesterday with Prime Minister Leszek Miller and President Aleksander Kwasniewski, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt emphasized the necessity of accelerating Poland's negotiations with the European Union (EU). Verhofstadt was on a one-day visit to Poland, during which he took part in a ceremony marking the start of the academic year at the European College in Natolin in Warsaw. In an address he said, "Accepting so many countries into the alliance may push the Union onto a completely new track. It may also paralyze it. But the risk has to be taken." During his meeting with the Belgian Prime Minister, Miller stressed that Poland wants to complete talks with the EU in 2002, and become an EU member in 2004. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A6) A.Z.