EU summit in Gothenburg closes

The EU summit in Gothenburg has closed with a commitment from member states to press ahead with enlargement.

Ireland's rejection of the Nice Treaty dominated most of the discussions and put the Taoiseach on centre stage.

Overall, the summit clearly stated that the enlargement process was irreversible.

It also set the end of 2002 as the deadline to complete negotiations with applicant countries that are ready to join.

Earlier, Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman stated that the rejection of the referendum on the Nice Treaty in Ireland was a clear signal that Ireland was against further enlargement of the European Union.