Support for EU enlargement delights former Communist countries

Leaders of former Communist countries that are awaiting European Union membership in 2004 welcomed Ireland's vote endorsing the EU's eastward expansion yesterday.

The Irish vote showed strong support for the inclusion of eight former Communist countries, as well as Cyprus and Malta, in the EU. The Polish President, Aleksander Kwasniewski, was the first to celebrate the trend. "There is reason for joy," Mr Kwasniewski said. "It shows that no internal problems can overshadow the great idea which is the expansion of the European Union."

In the Czech Republic, a leading contender for EU membership, President Vaclav Havel said the vote was of "fundamental importance for our future in Europe." According to his spokesman, Ladislav Spacek, Mr Havel said the outcome "is important not only for Ireland but also for the candidate countries who have awaited the referendum's outcome with great interest."

In Hungary, the Foreign Minister, Laszlo Kovacs, said: "The Irish have won top marks in awareness of responsibility. They understood that the enlargement of the European Union and, therefore, the future of Europe was in their hands.

"The 'yes' vote has given the opportunity to those countries wishing to join the EU, including Hungary, to enjoy the advantages of membership as the Irish have done themselves in recent years."

In neighbouring Slovakia, Jan Figel, the country's chief negotiator with the EU, said: "For Slovakia, this is a very good, encouraging signal."

He said Ireland had "created conditions for overcoming the division of Europe which started to be removed 1989 ... It's good for Ireland and for all of Europe."

In Slovenia, the most prosperous of the former Yugoslav republics, Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek was equally pleased with the Irish result. "With it, one of the last obstacles for the EU's enlargement has been removed," he said, adding: "I hope that at its 24-25 October meeting in Brussels, the EU will use this positive energy to complete the enlargement process."

Michalis Papapetrou, the Cyprus government spokesman, said, "We want to say a big thank you to the people of Ireland for their vote," which, he said, "has removed yet another obstacle from our past toward joining the European Union in the future."

The EU is preparing to finalise entry talks with Malta, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia by the end of the year, paving the way for their entry into the union in 2004.(AP)