President, PM address nation

Czech President Vaclav Klaus and Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla both addressed the nation on the eve of accession. The Prime Minister assured Czechs that the country would benefit from EU entry and urged them to avail themselves of the opportunities opening up. "We are not abandoning our homeland or replacing it - of our own free will we have chosen to become a part of the European community," Mr. Spidla said. "We have much to offer and a great deal to benefit from, I am convinced that the Czech Republic will not be lost in the EU," he concluded.

President Klaus said EU membership was something that this country had striven for over the past 14 years, and that it would end half a century of isolation, one-sided orientation towards the East and years of disrespect for basic values embraced by the democratic world. Yet he warned Czechs not to get carried away by sentiment, saying that it was vital for the country to learn to move within the framework of EU structures, to make the best of its pre-negotiated position within the union in order to take up its rightful place within the community. The Czech nation must preserve its identity and we must make sure that the balance of advantages and disadvantages of EU membership is in our favour, the President said, adding that he was optimistic that the Czech Republic was ready for the challenge.