Polish Prime Minister takes charge of Euro 2012 committee

WARSAW, Apr 27 (Reuters) Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said today he would take charge of preparations for the 2012 European championship by chairing the country's organizing committee.

Poland and Ukraine beat out Italy and a joint bid from Hungary and Croatia to host the games. Both nations are launching multi-billion-dollar projects to upgrade their creaky, ageing infrastructure.

Besides Kaczynski, 15 government ministers will sit on Poland's 20-strong organising committee.

''The committee must be made up of government members if it is to work effectively,'' Kaczynski said, in an echo of the two country's communist pasts.

President Lech Kaczynski, the prime minister's twin, signed a cooperation pact on Friday with Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko that includes a blueprint of preparations, Yushchenko said after their meeting in the Polish capital.

A Ukrainian organising committee, headed by Yushchenko, was set up earlier this week.

Its members include soccer federation head Hryhory Surkis, who spearheaded Ukraine's part of the bid, Ukraine's richest magnate and Shakhtar Donetsk owner Rinat Akhmetov as well as top politicians and figures in the business and banking spheres.

The Ukrainian government this week set a two-month deadline for studying plans for modernising facilities at stadiums and other sites at the four Ukrainian cities hosting matches.

UEFA's choice has raised questions over whether highways, hotels and stadiums neglected during decades of communism and in 15 difficult years since would be ready to host hundreds of thousands of foreign fans for the 16-team tournament.

''If Portugal, which has just 10 million people and isn't that rich, can manage, then we can manage,'' Kaczynski said.

Portugal hosted the 2004 European championship. A combined 85 million people live in Poland and Ukraine.

Kaczynski said he was preparing a ''Euro 2012'' law that would clear bottlenecks and remove red tape in the Poland's already booming construction sector.

Reuters BJR DS1617