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Czech negotiators in Brussels say that consultations among EU member states on a common policy with regard to the conditions of the accession agreement for the Czech Republic have moved the talks forward. The competition chapter is expected to be closed at the end of next week and progress is also reported on the controversial agriculture chapter, where EU states have agreed to Czech demands for higher production quotas for sugar and potato starch. On the other hand, the EU states have shown little inclination to increase the number of seats which the Czech Republic will have in the European Parliament. The country has been allotted 20 seats and has complained that countries with a comparable population have at least two more.

Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda visited Ireland on Thursday, in the hope of gaining support for EU enlargement. Mr Svoboda met with Irish President Mary McAleese, Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and other Irish supporters of the Nice treaty, which is considered a foundation for the enlargement process. Irish voters are currently preparing for a referendum on the treaty, to take place on October 19th. Last year, the people of Ireland rejected it by 54 percent to 46. At the time, however, just one in three Irish citizens bothered to vote. Opinion polls show that the majority of Irish people are in favour of enlargement.

At a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday the European Commission issued its annual progress reports, announcing that ten candidate countries, among them the Czech Republic, would be ready to join the EU in 2004.

The European Commission has released an important annual progress report on EU candidate countries, including the Czech Republic, rating ten countries' preparation for EU expansion in 2004, and two countries' preparation for accession in 2007. A thirteenth country, Turkey, was also evaluated, but has not yet been given the green light for accession talks to begin. Overall, in the progress report, the Czech Republic received a positive evaluation and praise for economic stability and reforms in the civil and judicial sectors, although there was serious criticism of corruption, economy-based crime, and discrimination against the Roma population. Wednesday the EU executive announced that member states should now wrap-up accession talks with the Czech Republic and nine other candidate countries in December, to pave the way for EU accession in 2004.

For the first time in history the Czech people will be able to decide about their future in a national referendum. On Tuesday, Parliament approved, in its first reading, a bill which will pave the way to a referendum on EU membership next spring .

The European Commission believes that the 10 candidate countries recommended to join the European Union in 2004 will be able to withstand competitive economic pressure in the block. According to a copy of the draft report, made available to journalists, the Czech Republic can expect a generally positive evaluation this year. The European Commission is reportedly happy with the pace of reform, particularly reform of the judiciary and civil service, noting that the country has made excellent progress in making its legislation compatible with that of the EU. However, it is said to be concerned with the still high level of corruption and economic crime. The European Commission's progress report on candidate states is to be approved and published on Wednesday.

As the Czech Republic aims to close remaining legislative chapters in preparation for accession to the European Union, and the accession date of 2004 looms near, Czechs, too, must prepare for changes ahead that will take some getting used to in everyday life. One of the changes coming up: new names for some traditional Czech products, such as Czech rum, a beloved domestic product that has been a staple of Czech baking, festivities, and pub-life for well over a hundred years. As of January 1st, 2003 it will still be possible to buy the beverage,

At an intergovernmental EU conference in Brussels on Tuesday the Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda presented his country's stand on the five remaining chapters of the EU accession process. According to Mr. Svoboda Prague is still hoping to negotiate a better deal on agriculture where the proposed production quotas are far below the sector's current needs. The Czech government has given the EU negotiating team a clear mandate and fall-back positions that are regarded as a minimum for the Czech agricultural sector to be able to survive competition on EU markets. The 12 EU candidates present at the meeting all expect a positive evaluation of their membership bids in the EU's annual progress report due on October 9th.

The Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda has welcomed the outcome of an EU-commissioned report according to which the controversial Benes decrees, which sanctioned the expulsion of 2.5 million ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia after WWII, do not pose an obstacle to Prague's bid to join the European Union. The European Parliament commissioned the study after Austrian and German politicians demanded that Prague revoke the Benes decrees since they were incompatible with EU laws. Speaking to journalists in Brussels, the Czech Foreign Minister said he hoped that this clear legal stand would remove all lingering doubts and prevent further disputes on the matter.

It's just over two months to go before a crucial date on the calendar of European Union enlargement - December 12th, when leaders of the EU and the 13 candidate countries gather in the Danish capital Copenhagen. By that date up to ten candidates - including the Czech Republic - are expected to have closed all thirty chapters of legislation required for accession to the EU. The Czechs still have five chapters to go - one of them being agriculture. Daniela Lazarova spoke to the country's chief EU negotiator Pavel Telicka, and began by asking him