The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, should show the seriousness of the Republic's support for Poland's early entry into the EU by publicly identifying January 1st, 2003 as the target date, Warsaw's minister for European integration said last night.
Mr Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, who was chosen last month to lead Poland's bid to join the EU, said it was time for Dublin to offer more concrete support.
"We would like more Irish political support for what we call non-delayed enlargement. We plan to join the Union by January 2003, a target that is not shared by all EU states," he said.
Mr Ahern arrived in Warsaw last night for a two-day visit amid a Polish government crisis that has forced the unpopular prime minister, Mr Jerzy Buzek, to make a humiliating offer to resign this week.
The Taoiseach will meet Mr Buzek today, but he is unlikely to satisfy his host by explicitly backing a target date for Poland's EU entry.
The Taoiseach will also meet President Aleksander Kwas niewski who, in contrast to his unfortunate prime minister, enjoys soaring poll ratings. Last night Mr Saryusz-Wolski, an economist who is his country's leading expert on EU affairs, made clear last night that Poles were becoming weary of listening to morally uplifting but insubstantial words of encouragement.
Popular support among Poles for EU membership has fallen from 70 per cent a decade ago to just over half the population today and Mr Saryusz-Wolski believes the delay in joining is to blame.
Despite Poland's eagerness to speed up EU entry and Mr Buzek's political problems, which bear an uncanny similarity to the coalition tensions Mr Ahern has left behind in Dublin, today's meeting is likely to be cordial. Irish investment in Poland totals $1 billion (€1.1 billion) and the Taoiseach is accompanied by representatives of 41 Irish companies interested in starting operations in the country.
Poland views the Republic as a model for its EU aspirations and Mr Saryusz-Wolski admits that, even if the Taoiseach fails to name a date for Polish entry, the Republic's example is a powerful argument to persuade his increasingly euro-sceptical compatriots.
"It is very useful to be able to tell our fellow citizens - look at Ireland, it's a success story. They did it. And then to tell them the details of how you did it," he said.
