Athens summit - Post-war Iraq clouds EU accession

Although the two-day summit in Athens is essentially to witness the historic occasion of the 10 aspiring EU member countries — mostly from Eastern Europe — signing the accession treaty, the event was inevitably overshadowed yesterday

The occasion also facilitated a meeting on the margins between Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair to review briefly the situation in Northern Ireland.

Both leaders will maintain contact, but the Irish Government is determined the Assembly elections in the North will go ahead as scheduled at the end of next month.