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The Czech Republic took a step towards letting its citizens decide on EU membership on Thursday, after the lower house of parliament approved a bill to hold a referendum in the second quarter of next year. The legislation now goes to the Senate, where it is expected to pass easily because the upper house drafted the bill. The bill was approved by a strong majority, with 180 of the 182 deputies present in the 200-seat lower house voting in favour.

A new opinion poll released on Thursday shows a large majority in favour of electing a successor to President Vaclav Havel in a direct vote, as opposed to the current parliamentary system. The survey, carried out by the STEM agency, said 85 percent of respondents were in favour of electing the head of state directly. When asked who should succeed Mr Havel in February, most people said Otakar Motejl, the country's ombudsman. Mr Motejl, one of four candidates nominated by the ruling Social Democrats, was followed by Senate chairman Petr Pithart and Civic Democrat leader Vaclav Klaus. The Civic Democrats recently launched an initiative to change the Constitution to allow a direct vote.

President Vaclav Havel and fellow leaders of EU candidate countries have appealed to the people of Ireland to vote "yes" to the EU's enlargement treaty, saying rejection would be a "great disappointment". In a joint statement issued ahead of Saturday's referendum in Ireland, the presidents of Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic said rejecting the Nice Treaty - which introduces reforms crucial to the enlargement process - would squander a historic opportunity. Ireland, the only EU member required to hold a referendum on the issue, rejected the treaty last year in a vote marked by low turnout and confusion over what the agreement would mean.

Preparations are underway for the upcoming NATO summit to be held from November 21st to November 22nd in the Czech capital Prague. Interior minister Stanislav Gross told journalists on Tuesday that work was progressing according to schedule. Mr. Gross said he would take full responsibility and resign if the security operation failed in any way. Over 1,000 specially trained officers will be protecting the delegates during their stay in the city . An estimated 12,000 protesters are expected to converge on the Czech capital for the two day summit and at least 12,000 police officers will be out on the streets to deal with street riots . The army will also be helping out with over 2,000 soldiers assigned to patrol-duty at Prague's main international airport, hotels and the conference center where the summit will take place. The authorities have asked Prague inhabitants to restrict their movement around the city over those two days. This is the first NATO summit to be held in a former communist state and as such it presents a major challenge for the local authorities.