Brief honeymoon for new UK leader

Date: 08/05/1997

By Rory Watson

EU LEADERS will give the latest arrival to their ranks a brief breathing space before pressing him for answers crucial to the outcome of the current talks on EU reform.

Dutch Premier Wim Kok will quiz new British Prime Minister Tony Blair on his approach towards key issues under negotiation at the Intergovernmental Conference when they meet later this week.

But the presidency accepts that Blair's administration needs time to reply and Kok is unlikely to try to pin down the victorious Labour leader (pictured above) either at this week's meeting or at the special EU summit in the Netherlands on 23 May.

In a sign of a new spirit of give-and-take, EU governments this week indicated they could agree to the UK maintaining its passport controls while others abolished theirs.