Berlin - Chancellor Gerhard Schroder reaffirmed Germany's commitment to European expansion yesterday, while the Foreign Minister, Dr Joschka Fischer, said it was out of the question for Germans to hold a referendum on the matter.
Mr Schroder said expansion eastwards remained "a central task of German foreign and security policy".
Dr Fischer said Germany must not be afraid to use its political influence in the new millennium.
"The European Union will be from 2003 ready to take in new members," Mr Schroder told a meeting of German ambassadors, referring to the date the 15-member bloc has set for expansion to begin.
Dr Fischer said he hoped the first group, including Poland, could join the EU "at the latest at the beginning of the year 2005". Mr Gunter Verheugen, a German who is the EU's Enlargement Commissioner, caused a ripple of embarrassment at the weekend when he argued that the people should be given a say on the eastward expansion. However, Mr Verheugen's interview was welcomed by Austria's far-right Freedom Party.