EU ENLARGEMENT: Polish Prime Minister Mr Leszek Miller has urged doubtful Poles to say "Yes" to Europe as east European leaders begin the uphill task of persuading voters to back the EU's enlargement.
In a prime-time television address, Mr Miller told Poles the invitation to join the wealthy block would boost Poland's standing and "fulfil the dream of generations" for safety and prosperity while leaving national identity intact.
"Europe has said yes to us, let us now say yes to Europe," said Mr Miller, who returned from Friday's Copenhagen summit with EU entry terms that have won media approval, quieted unrest in his coalition and won backing even from political opponents.
Mr Miller's appearance struck the opening blow in the fight to win referendums on European Union entry that will be held next year in nine of the 10 east European and Mediterranean states set to join the Union on May 1st, 2004.
Only Cyprus is unlikely to hold a national ballot. Malta, Poland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia and the Czech Republic have all said they will seek popular backing for being part of the block's most ambitious enlargement.
Support for EU entry is strong in most countries but the details of the financial aid and trading conditions won in the entry talks, particularly for farmers, will face tough scrutiny from nationalists and sceptics wary of a sell-out to Brussels.
Mr Miller's team adopted a tough stance in talks with the EU, which ruffled feathers in Brussels but appears to have been popular in a country whose history of invasion and occupation makes it sensitive to charges of capitulation.
In Hungary and the Czech Republic, political opponents have criticised governments for not taking a hard enough stance.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Mr Laszlo Kovacs accused former prime minister Mr Viktor Orban of misleading the public with charges that Budapest gave in too easily over farm output quotas and failed to win good budget rebates.
"We have obtained everything that was realistically obtainable," said Mr Kovacs. Hungary will join the EU "under better terms than was foreseeable a few months ago", he added.
Former rightist Czech Prime Minister Mr Vaclav Klaus said the Prague government had been more concerned with keeping face than winning decent entry terms for Czech farmers and businessmen.
Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mr Yasar Yakis said yesterday a peace deal on the divided island of Cyprus was possible by the end of February, the latest timeframe presented to Greek and Turkish Cypriots by the United Nations.
The EU failed to clinch a deal between the two sides at the EU summit and invited the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government to join in 2004.
UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan has asked Cyprus's rival leaders to sign a letter of intent committing themselves to negotiating an accord by February 28th, 2003. Asked by CNN Turk television if he saw a settlement by then, Mr Yakis said: "There will probably be an agreement." The east Mediterranean island has been partitioned along ethnic lines since a 1974 Turkish invasion in response to a brief Athens-backed coup aimed at union with Greece.
The EU has left the door open for Turkish Cypriots to join with the rest of the island if an accord can be reached before Cyprus is admitted. - (Reuters)
Danish officials yesterday said four demonstrators would remain in custody charged with violence against the police during a largely peaceful protest in the Danish capital earlier this weekend. The four, a Frenchman, a Briton and two Swedes, are to stay in custody until December 23rd. On Saturday, 4,000 protesters marched through Copenhagen, rallying against "European and US imperialism". - (AFP)