London, 20 November 1997 (RFE/RL) - British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook will discuss European Union enlargement during visits to Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland next week.
A British Foreign Office spokesman said today that he will make a keynote speech on different aspects of enlargement in each capital.
Britain takes over the six-month rotating EU presidency on January 1 -- a period which coincides with the beginning of negotiations on the enlargement of the EU to include the new eastern democracies.
Cook, who is making his first visit to Central Europe as Foreign Secretary, will also speak about the enlargement of Nato, and have bilateral talks on a range of issues.
One of the goals of the visit is to promote British trade. In Budapest, he will attend the signing of a $60 million contract between a British consortium of high tech companies and Hungarian state railways. In Warsaw, he will open the offices of a British construction company.