EU enlargement talks begin

01 April 1998

EU enlargement talks begin

EUROPEAN Union (EU) enlargement negotiations began in Brussels for fast-track membership of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Cyprus.

Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia are on a slower track.

Poland is widely viewed as the country which presents the EU with its biggest enlargement challenge because of the size of its agricultural system and a population of nearly 40 million.

• Financial Times 01/04/98 page 2