Slovaks urged to show up at accession vote

EU Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen urged Slovaks to vote at a referendum on joining the bloc in two weeks amid fears turnout could fall below the 50 per cent needed to validate the ballot.

Polls put support for joining the 15-nation bloc at over 75 per cent in the ex-Soviet satellite of 5.4 million people, but media and analysts have criticised the government for doing too little too late to drum up support for the May 16-17 referendum.

The criticism has become more acute in recent weeks after only 46 per cent of Hungarian voters turned out in Hungary's referendum on European Union accession last month.

Before the Hungarian ballot, which only needed a quarter of voters to make it valid, surveys showed more than 60 per cent of Hungarians intended to vote. Polls in Slovakia show similar figures.

"I would like to tell the Slovak people the decision on accession is probably the most important since the country's independence... it will affect not only those who are living today, but also those in generations to come," Mr Verheugen told journalists.

"It will be such an important decision that everyone should show up," he said.

Slovakia, which became Europe's youngest country when it peacefully split from the Czech Republic in 1993, is one of 10 mostly ex-communist states to add a new star to the EU flag's when they attain full membership in May 2004.

If fewer than 50 per cent of voters take part in the Slovak vote, it will be treated as if it did not take place, and EU entry may then be approved by a two-thirds vote in parliament.

As lawmakers have almost unanimously pledged to support such a motion in the event of a failed referendum, Slovakia's approving EU accession is very likely, but a failed vote could cause political turmoil and a slowdown in badly needed reforms in Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda's rightist government.

The other states invited to join the EU next year are the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Malta and Cyprus.

So far only Malta, Slovenia and Hungary have approved EU entry in referendums.