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Czech top politicians have welcomed the outcome of Ireland's referendum on the Nice Treaty after the final count put the "yes" side ahead by nearly 63 percent. Saturday's vote was Ireland's second referendum on the European Union's Nice Treaty, which is deemed essential for admitting 10 applicant countries, including the Czech Republic, to the EU in 2004. Ireland voted on Saturday in a re-run of a referendum held last year when the treaty was defeated by 54 percent with only a third of the electorate voting.

Polls opened on Saturday morning in Ireland as its 2.9 million voters decide whether to accept or reject the European Union Treaty of Nice, which enables enlargement of the bloc. This is Ireland's second referendum on the treaty and the outcome of the poll will be watched closely by the 10 countries, including the Czech Republic, hoping to join the EU in 2004, as well as Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, who hope to join at a later stage. Ireland rejected the Nice Treaty in June 2001 by 54 percent in a referendum. Latest opinion polls show 42 per cent of the electorate intend to vote "yes" this time while 29 percent intend to vote "no". Ireland is the only EU member state to hold a referendum on the Treaty of Nice. National parliaments decided in the other 14 member states. The final result of the referendum is expected on Sunday evening.

The Netherlands has prevented the Czech Republic from closing the economic competition chapter which is part of negotiations between the European Union and the Czech Republic. The Dutch representative said the Netherlands' objection was the Czech state assistance to the steel industry. The Czech government's chief EU negotiator Pavel Telicka will not therefore meet his counterparts from EU member countries.

The Czech Republic took a step towards letting its citizens decide on EU membership on Thursday, after the lower house of parliament approved a bill to hold a referendum in the second quarter of next year. The legislation now goes to the Senate, where it is expected to pass easily because the upper house drafted the bill. The bill was approved by a strong majority, with 180 of the 182 deputies present in the 200-seat lower house voting in favour.

The Benes Decrees under which more than 2,000,000 ethnic Germans were expelled from Czechoslovakia in the aftermath of the Second World War are not a hindrance to Prague's admission to the European Union, according an official report issued by the European Commission on Friday. The Commission said the study of the decrees carried out by legal experts "had not shown any obstacles to the Czech Republic's accession in the light of the acquis communautaire. The report has been welcomed in Prague, but is likely to anger some groups in neighbouring Austria and Germany, where many ethnic Germans settled after the expulsion. Some politicians in the two countries have called for the Czech Republic to be banned from joining the EU until the decrees are scrapped.

The European Union Commissioner for economic competition, Mario Monti, has said the Commission is dissatisfied with the Czech Republic's documentation on state assistance to banks prior to their privatisation. After a meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla, Mr Monti stressed that the Czech Republic should secure full confidence and legal security to banks and investors, adding that more efforts would be required for achieving higher transparency of state assistance to banks.

The Czech Republic is well on its way to EU membership. Out of the 30 chapters of legislation it needs to close before the end of the year, only five remain open. Furthermore, at the beginning of the month, an EU progress report on the country was better than ever before. So it appears that little can stop the Czech Republic from being among the first batch of candidate countries to join in 2004. There are two things, however, that could throw a spanner in the works - this weekend's Irish referendum on the Nice Treaty, and the lack of a Czech law

The Czech Republic took a step towards letting its citizens decide on EU membership on Thursday, after the lower house of parliament approved a bill to hold a referendum in the second quarter of next year. The legislation now goes to the Senate, where it is expected to pass easily because the upper house drafted the bill. The bill was approved by a strong majority, with 180 of the 182 deputies present in the 200-seat lower house voting in favour.

President Vaclav Havel and fellow leaders of EU candidate countries have appealed to the people of Ireland to vote "yes" to the EU's enlargement treaty, saying rejection would be a "great disappointment". In a joint statement issued ahead of Saturday's referendum in Ireland, the presidents of Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic said rejecting the Nice Treaty - which introduces reforms crucial to the enlargement process - would squander a historic opportunity. Ireland, the only EU member required to hold a referendum on the issue, rejected the treaty last year in a vote marked by low turnout and confusion over what the agreement would mean.

While ten countries, including the Czech Republic, are hoping to join the European Union at the beginning of 2004, a referendum in Ireland, planned for this weekend, could potentially derail or delay the enlargement process. Although few are willing to admit it, the referendum is being watched by the candidate countries with certain uneasiness. Vladimir Tax reports.