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The Czech delegation came to Thessalonica with a clear position on all issues but one - a possible reference to the Christian tradition in the drafted EU constitution. The proposal to mention Christian roots of European culture in the preamble comes from the European People's Party. In the predominantly atheist Czech Republic, the idea, promoted by the Christian Democrats, sparked controversy in parliament. Particularly agitated were some MPs for the main opposition Civic Democrats and the ruling Social Democrats - they accused Christian Democrat

The Czech Republic's EU entry, as approved by the Czechs in referendum last weekend, will bring about changes in many respects. One of them is the opening of markets, implying free movement of goods, capital and labour. The possibility to work abroad was even one of the main points in the government's promotion campaign before the referendum. Some of the current EU countries are going to limit the inflow of workers from the new member states for a transitional period of two to seven years. The Czech Republic is still hoping to reverse their decision

Last week, the Convention on the Future of Europe adopted a draft constitution for an enlarged European Union by consensus. At a summit in Thessaloniki this week, it is expected to present its proposal to EU leaders. The draft constitution is designed to allow the EU function more effectively after it expands into Eastern Europe. But do representatives of the candidate countries believe it will work? In the Czech Republic, feelings are mixed.

The European Commission's ambassador to Prague Mr. Ramiro Cibrian has said he is convinced that the process of ratifying the EU accession treaty by the unions 15 members should go smoothly. At a press conference in Prague on Monday, Mr. Cibrian congratulated Czechs on endorsing EU accession in a historic referendum and said it was a wonderful conclusion to his mission in Prague. After four and a half years in the Czech Republic, Mr. Cibrian is leaving his post, to be replaced by the current charge d'affaires Mr. Ralf Dreyer. Over the past twelve months Mr. Cibrian covered 35,000 kilometers, visited eighty towns and cities and held debates on EU membership with over 10,000 people in near-fluent Czech. "It has been hectic, but worthwhile" he told reporters.

President Vaclav Klaus has come under fire for his non-committal stand regarding the country's accession to the EU. Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and Labour Minister Zdenek Skromach have both criticized the head of state for failing to take a public stand on so crucial an issue. President Klaus appealed to voters to go to the polls and make a prudent decision, but he refused to commit one way or another or to say how he himself would vote. "This is not a stand befitting a president" minister Sobotka told newsmen, pointing out that the presidents of Poland, Hungary and Slovakia had led their country's pro EU campaigns.

The business daily Hospodarske noviny warns that Czechs are the greatest sceptics among the European Union candidates, with the turnout lowest after Hungary and Slovakia. Czechs are the masters of scepticism, the daily quotes the chairman of the Czech Senate Petr Pithart.

While in some areas of life Czechs will hardly notice anything has changed once the country actually joins the European Union next year, elsewhere the changes will be very visible. One such change will affect the country's border crossings. On the day of its accession, the Czech Republic will become part of the EU's customs union and that means customs checkpoints will disappear from the border crossings, as the Czech Republic will be surrounded only by other EU member states.

It's just two days since the Czech Republic's first ever referendum, and people are already talking about the next one. Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla conceded recently that the far-reaching reforms of the European Union - to be formally presented at this week's Thessaloniki summit - would have to be approved by the Czech people in a second referendum. My colleague Rob Cameron has been leafing through the draft of the much-discussed EU Constitution and joins me in the studio now. Rob - just how momentous are these changes to the EU?

Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla has thanked Czechs for endorsing the country's accession to the European Union in a historic referendum over the weekend. According to a final result published by the Czech Statistical Office 77 percent of voters cast ballots in support of EU entry, 23 percent voted against. The turnout was 55 percent. Support for EU membership reportedly came from all strata of society and from all political parties.

The European Commission also thanked the Czech electorate for voting "yes". "The Czech Republic takes the place it was always entitled to" said the Commission's chief representative in Prague Mr. Ramiro Cibrian. Congratulations have come from the EU Commissioner for Expansion Mr. Gunter Verheugen, from Greece which currently holds the rotating EU presidency and from representatives of the European Parliament.

Both EU members and EU candidates have congratulated the Czech Republic on making "the right decision" and "putting faith in the future of the European Union". The French Minister for European Affairs Noelle Lenoir welcomed Czechs in the EU and said that the return of the Czech Republic to Europe was excellent news for all. German officials called it " a great day for the Czech Republic" and in the Austrian capital Vienna, Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero Waldner welcomed Czechs to the EU with a few sentences in Czech.

The Czech Republic is one of ten predominantly former communist states set to join the European Union next May in a "big bang" eastward expansion. Voters in Poland, Malta, Slovenia, Hungary, Lithuania and Slovakia have already approved accession in national referenda. Estonia and Latvia are to vote in September.