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A new opinion poll released on Wednesday shows that more than 60 percent of the Czech public support their country's entry to the European Union and are satisfied with NATO membership. The poll, carried out by the STEM agency in November, found that 64 percent of Czechs would vote for joining the EU in a referendum, while 68 percent supported NATO membership. The Czech Republic was admitted to NATO in March 1999, together with Poland and Hungary, and is among the 10 leading candidates for EU membership.

The Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla visited Brussels on Monday to lobby for Czech interests. Mr Spidla first met his Belgian counterpart Guy Verhofstadt, then held talks with EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen, followed by a discussion with EU Commission President, Romano Prodi. With the EU commencing the debate on the precise financial conditions for admitting new countries, Mr Spidla's visit was the last chance to influence EU decisions on financing expansion at the highest political level. Speaking to journalists after his meeting with Mr Spidla, Mr Prodi said he was confident that the EU and the candidate countries would reach the necessary compromises before the EU summit in Copenhagen in December.

Prague is gradually returning to normal after the two day NATO summit on Thursday and Friday. Traffic is again flowing normally through the city, where many streets were cordoned off, and shops, which were boarded up in anticipation of violent anti-NATO demonstrations are gradually reopening. In the end the summit passed without serious incident, and police officers, brought in from around the country are now returning home.

The NATO summit witnessed the historic decision to invite a further seven countries to join the alliance, and for the first time the expansion is to include countries which were once part of the Soviet Union. NATO leaders also decided to create a rapid response force to be used in global anti-terrorist missions, and issued a statement backing UN efforts to disarm Iraq. The statement was cautiously worded and fell short of overtly endorsing military intervention. At talks on Friday NATO and Russia said they would continue in the path of cooperation set up in Rome six months ago.

The NATO summit came to an end in Prague on Friday after two days of talks on the enlargement, transformation and modernisation of the alliance. Leaders of the 53-year-old defence organisation made the historic decision to invite a further seven former Eastern Bloc nations to join, and for the first time the expansion is to include countries which were once part of the Soviet Union. NATO leaders also decided to create a rapid Response Force to be used in global anti-terrorist missions, and issued a statement backing UN efforts to disarm Iraq. However the statement did not go so far as to endorse military intervention overtly. On Friday, representatives of the 19 NATO member states met their counterparts from 27 East European and Central Asian nations that have partnership accords with the alliance.