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The presidency of the European Union has warned candidate countries that they risk setting back their entry date by years if they try to demand better accession terms at next week's Copenhagen summit. The Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said after a meeting with the French President Jacques Chirak in Paris that the EU had made ultimate concessions in its last offer and candidates should not demand the impossible. Three of the candidates -Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary- are still pushing for a better deal in accession talks and the last minute concessions proposed by Denmark still have to be approved by the governments of the other 14 member states. The Danish Prime Minister expressed confidence that the Copenhagen summit would be a historic success, despite the fact that some of the candidates are not entirely happy with the entry terms and that some EU member states feel that the Danish presidency has been too generous with its final offer.

An estimated 10,000 farmers have staged an angry demonstration in Prague against the European Union's plans to provide relatively low agricultural subsidies to new member countries. On Wednesday morning farmers pelted the Agriculture Ministry with eggs, beets, potatoes and tomatoes, breaking around two dozen windows. They also set fire to bales of straw and blocked the main gate to the ministry with piles of manure. No arrests were made. Agriculture Minister Jaroslav Palas said the demonstration was justified, but condemned the damage caused. The protest came just days before the Czech government was due to conclude an agriculture agreement as part of accession talks with the EU. The union plans to phase in farm subsidies in the Czech Republic and other candidate countries over several years, once they join in 2004.

The head of the European Commission's delegation to Prague, Ramiro Cibrian, has said new EU members can expect a rise in growth rates after they join the EU. Speaking at an economic forum in Prague, Mr Cibrian said economic growth could exceed 3 percent in the first years after accession, expected in 2004. Analysts expect economic growth in the Czech Republic to reach 2.5 per cent by the end of this year.

During its session on Monday, the Czech government decided to raise the minimum monthly wage by 500 Czech crowns to 6,200 crowns as of January next year. The minimum wage was introduced in 1991 when it was set at 2,000 Czech crowns. In the Czech Republic it is less than 40 per cent of the average wage. Whilst some economists have warned that a higher minimum wage could lower labour productivity and increase unemployment, trade unions have welcomed the rise, arguing that it would force employers to utilise their workforce more efficiently.