HOON: 'LINKS TO POLAND HAVE NEVER BEEN STRONGER'

Minister for Europe, Geoff Hoon, travels to Poland on Monday 12 June. In Warsaw he will have bilateral meetings with a number of key Polish Ministers including Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga.

The visit will highlight the commitment both countries have to building a stronger, more effective Europe that delivers on the issues that matter to its people such as security, energy and enlargement.

Geoff Hoon said, before departing:

'I am very much looking forward to visiting Warsaw. Poland and the UK are old friends in the new Europe and links between the two countries have never been stronger.

'My discussions in Warsaw will focus on the key future of Europe issues such as economic reform, tackling the challenges of globalisation, energy, security, counter-terrorism and organised crime - the approach taken at Hampton Court during the UK Presidency.'

Geoff Hoon's trip to Warsaw also comes just weeks before a visit by the Polish President, Lech Kaczyński, to the UK. Kaczyński will be in the UK from 29-30 June as a guest of government.

Notes to editors:

1. Poland is Britain’s largest export market in Central and Eastern Europe.
2. Some 56 major UK companies have invested more than 4.3 billion dollars in Poland since 1989.
3. The Polish community in Britain is growing fast and making a valuable contribution to the British economy. Over 200,00 Poles now live and work in the UK.
4. Over 300 flights a week link Poland and the UK.
5. The UK works with Polish border guards patrolling the EU’s new frontier.

For more information about the UK’s relationship with Poland and the future of Europe priorities visit the FCO's new Britain in the EU website at: www.europe.gov.uk
Source: www.britishembassy.gov.uk