Danes focus on growth at EU helm

Danish PM Rasmussen has made EU enlargement his top objective

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Denmark takes over the presidency of the European Union on Monday with enlargement the focus of its six-month tenure.

The process of including a further 10 nations into the 15-member bloc was started during Denmark's last tenure in 1993.

Leaders of the small nation of 5.3 million are keen to complete negotiations for enlarging the EU to include the mainly former communist states of Eastern Europe.

"Twelve years ago the Eastern European people liberated themselves and booted out the communists," Danish Prime Minster Anders Fogh Rasmussen said, according to The Associated Press.

"Western Europe has already been dragging its feet for too long about getting the Eastern European countries into our community."

EXTRA INFORMATION In-depth: Changing Face of Europe    RESOURCES Denmarks' aims

As well as the political prestige that would go with reaching agreement, Denmark is keen to wrap up a deal because the EU is to be overwhelmed with other issues in the coming years.

"Even a small delay in the decision on enlargement could result in a long postponement because in 2003 and 2004 we must concentrate on internal reforms and in 2005 and 2006 we have to decide the EU's future financial perspectives," he was quoted by Reuters as telling a group of visiting Brussels-based reporters in Copenhagen.

Denmark should be well placed to succeed because issues such as the euro, EU military plans and justice and home affairs are likely to be shelved as Denmark has opted out of such discussions, preferring to cede supervision to the next president, Greece.

Its own diplomats should be free to concentrate on enlargement and fulfil the prime minister's self-imposed December deadline.

Enlargement had been on the agenda at the Seville EU summit, which rounded off the Spanish presidency in June, but Germany tried to link the issue with reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. (Seville summit)

Germany and others are loathe to award direct payments to farmers in the candidate countries at a time when they feel all such aid should be phased out.

Denmark has joined Spain, which expressed frustration at German tactics at the summit, in predicting that linking the two subjects will derail enlargement.

"The Germans seem to be saying 'we want enlargement but we don't want to pay for it,'" Reuters quoted one irritated Spanish diplomat as saying.

France, backed by the new candidates, argued against reduced packages.

The International Herald Tribune reported that four candidate countries agreed over the weekend to "speak with the same voice" on key issues rather than competing against each other.

The four -- the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia -- are concerned they will not be given the same chances as more established players and will lose out financially, the IHT reported. (Polish support wanes)

Forming an alliance is seen as strengthening their bargaining power.

Despite the problems at Seville, Spain has been congratulated for making progress on the issue of enlargement.

Also on Monday, several eurozone countries -- including Spain, France, Portugal and Luxembourg -- began limiting the ability of residents and visitors to change their old currency into euros. As scheduled, people would no longer be able to exchanging national currency at commercial banks.