2012 - European championship

Polish MEP Onyszkiewicz 'confident' about Warsaw's 2012 European championship bid

Polish MEP Janusz Onyszkiewicz says he is confident his country will be ready to host the 2012 European championships.

But the ALDE group deputy warned that some question marks still remain over the ability of Ukraine to co-host the tournament.

Speaking in the European parliament on Wednesday, Onyszkiewicz was responding to ongoing concerns that both countries will not be ready to stage the prestige event.

Last September, Uefa, the sport's European governing body, told the hosts they needed to speed up work on building stadiums and improve road and transport infrastructure.

Italy was widely expected to win the Uefa vote when it was announced in Cardiff in April 2007, with another joint bid from Croatia and Hungary also in the running, and organisation's president Michel Platini was forced to deny that Italy had been earmarked as replacements.

Platini, however, insisted there was "no back-up plan" in place.

Onyszkiewicz said, "There have been concerns, particularly about transport infrastructure and also border crossings. I am confident about Poland's ability to host the tournament but some uncertainty does remain about Ukraine."

Onyszkiewicz, a former government minister and deputy chairman of parliament's foreign affairs committee, was speaking at the launch of an exhibition on the upcoming tournament.

EU regional affairs commissioner Danuta Hübner, who is also Polish, and parliament's president Hans-Gert Pöttering, were among the speakers at the event.

Meanwhile at an earlier event on Wednesday, Hübner said the European commission would be "working hard" in the remaining months of its mandate.

She told journalists that any thoughts of the executive winding down as it approaches the end of its five-year term were groundless.

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2012 - European championship

	Anonymous Guest	#1 - Posted: 22 Jan 2009 21:00
Polish MEP Onyszkiewicz 'confident' about Warsaw's 2012 European championship bid Polish MEP Janusz Onyszkiewicz says he is confident his country will be ready to host the 2012 European championships. But the ALDE group deputy warned that some question marks still remain over the ability of Ukraine to co-host the tournament. Speaking in the European parliament on Wednesday, Onyszkiewicz was responding to ongoing concerns that both countries will not be ready to stage the prestige event. Last September, Uefa, the sport's European governing body, told the hosts they needed to speed up work on building stadiums and improve road and transport infrastructure. Italy was widely expected to win the Uefa vote when it was announced in Cardiff in April 2007, with another joint bid from Croatia and Hungary also in the running, and organisation's president Michel Platini was forced to deny that Italy had been earmarked as replacements. Platini, however, insisted there was "no back-up plan" in place. Onyszkiewicz said, "There have been concerns, particularly about transport infrastructure and also border crossings. I am confident about Poland's ability to host the tournament but some uncertainty does remain about Ukraine." Onyszkiewicz, a former government minister and deputy chairman of parliament's foreign affairs committee, was speaking at the launch of an exhibition on the upcoming tournament. EU regional affairs commissioner Danuta Hübner, who is also Polish, and parliament's president Hans-Gert Pöttering, were among the speakers at the event. Meanwhile at an earlier event on Wednesday, Hübner said the European commission would be "working hard" in the remaining months of its mandate. She told journalists that any thoughts of the executive winding down as it approaches the end of its five-year term were groundless.

	Anonymous Guest	#2 - Posted: 16 Apr 2009 17:09
WARSAW, Poland — UEFA president Michel Platini said Thursday that Poland's preparations to co-host the 2012 European Championship with Ukraine are on track, wrapping up his visit to the tournament co-hosts on an upbeat tone. "I don't see any big, big problems as far as the organization is concerned," Platini said. "Things are advancing well, and I want to congratulate the minister (of sport) and the football federation." The confidence boost for Poland comes a day after Platini assured Ukraine during a similar visit to Kiev that the country will retain the right to stage the tournament despite lingering organizational delays. Platini's comments during the trip to both capitals also seem to put to rest -- at least for now -- speculation that UEFA could strip the former communist countries of their hosting rights and move the tournament elsewhere. After being awarded the right to stage European football's showcase event in April 2007, Poland and Ukraine struggled to build the stadiums, hotels, roads and airports needed to host the competition. Those troubles spurred UEFA to warn the countries last July they could lose the tournament if they didn't pick up the pace of preparations.