New EU members want further expansion

Four new EU members from central Europe voiced their support yesterday for other eastern European nations seeking European Union membership or stronger ties with the newly enlarged bloc.

Less than a fortnight after their countries joined the EU, the prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia said the bloc must not close its doors to east European states like Ukraine and Belarus and Balkan states Serbia and Montenegro. They also said it should remain open to Turkey.

"Our voice will be increasingly heard at the European table in favour of cooperation with Ukraine, (the) western Balkans, in favour of a European development of those countries which decide to go this way," said Slovak premier Mikulas Dzurinda.

"We will support any country in its effort to head to Europe," Mr Dzurinda told reporters in the eastern Czech town of Kromeriz after the meeting of the Visegrad Group, a loose partnership of the four central European countries.

The group was founded in 1991 to help the four neighbours cooperate on achieving the chief foreign policy goal of their post-communist transformation, their entry to the EU.

Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka said Poland, one of the largest members of the 25-member Union, would certainly throw its weight behind furthering cooperation with Ukraine.

"Poland wants to be Ukraine's advocate in any case, but it is in the hands of (the) Ukraine people themselves how their democracy will develop," said Mr Belka.

The four prime ministers also said they would help Croatia in its forthcoming accession talks, and had sympathy for bids by Bulgaria and Romania to enter the EU. They agreed that none of them would oppose opening accession talks with Turkey.

"There was no strong opinion which would say that some of the countries would veto (a proposal) to start negotiations with Turkey," said Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla.

The EU has recognised Turkey as a candidate but has not opened up accession talks with the Muslim country of 70 million.

There is strong opposition in a number of EU countries to eventual Turkish membership. EU leaders are due to decide at their December summit whether Turkey is fit to start talks.