Havel: EU enlargement date 'not important'

The Czech president, Vaclav Havel, has moved to defuse concern in central Europe over the timetable for European Union enlargement.

In an interview with the BBC Czech Service, President Havel said the date for admitting new members was not the key issue.

But he said it was important that EU members should show they weren't losing their enthusiasm for enlargement.

Poland, particularly, has expressed concern that plans for it to join the EU by two-thousand-and-two might slip, because of problems over reform of EU institutions.

President Havel, who wants the EU eventually to become a federation, said institutional reforms were necessary.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service