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EU: Enlargement Candidates -- Poland Included -- Agree To Deal


Copenhagen, 13 December 2002 (RFE/RL) -- EU leaders have agreed with all 10 candidate states on the financial terms of the bloc's enlargement, the largest ever. The breakthrough came after Poland, by far the biggest of the candidate states negotiating their entry at the EU summit in Copenhagen, agreed to a deal with the Danish presidency.

Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson and Polish Finance Minister Grzegorz Kolodko confirmed that Poland, which had been pushing for better financial terms, had accepted a settlement (Polish Premier Leszek Miller is pictured after agreeing to the deal).

The 10 candidates are Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Cyprus, and Malta.

Earlier today, negotiations on the margins of the EU summit on reuniting divided Cyprus broke off. The EU had said it is prepared to admit the internationally recognized Greek part of the island if reunification negotiations fail.

EU leaders earlier today said accession negotiations with Turkey could start after its candidacy is reviewed at the end of 2004.

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