Slovenia and Finland Hold Different Views on EU Enlargement

Ljubljana, 3 April - Finnish Foreign Minister Errki Tuomioja met with his Slovene counterpart Dimitrij Rupel in Ljubljana on Tuesday. Tuomioja complimented Slovenia on its progress in EU accession negotiations and expressed belief that Slovenia would be among the first new EU member states. Rupel pointed out that Finland believes that the EU enlargement should take place in 2005, while Slovenia would like to see it by 2003 or 2004. According to Tuomioja, Finland has no objections towards 2004 or even 2003, if this is possible.