Czechs vote overwhelmingly yes to EU

Czechs voted overwhelmingly to join the European Union in a binding nationwide referendum, according to preliminary results released today.

With 88% of the votes counted, 77% of the voters affirmed the measure, according to the state Statistical Office. Turnout was at 55%.

The move opens the way for the former communist state to join the EU along with nine other states next May.

“This is a victory for the Czech people,” Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla, an enthusiastic EU supporter, told reporters shortly after polls closed.

“The Czech Republic will ... be part of a family of European nations and exercise its right to live on equal footing with others,” he added, alluding to fears that Czechs would sacrifice sovereignty by joining the growing trade bloc.

Echoing his enthusiasm, Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda said the vote marked “the conclusion of an era of our history following the fall of the totalitarian regime”.

Many Czechs believe joining the EU will bring long-term economic benefits and raise living standards for future generations.

Some, however, expressed doubts ahead of the vote on whether the country - which overthrew communism in 1989 and split from Slovakia four years later – is ready to hand over its fate to an outside power.

One voter who cast his ballot in Prague on Saturday, Jiri Ruzicka, said he hoped EU membership would improve the country’s economic lot.

“I voted yes because things can’t get worse than they are now,” said Ruzicka, a 38-year-old pub owner.

The government waged a “yes” campaign, but critics said it failed to explain why people should support EU membership or to address widespread fears that prices could rise steeply after joining the union.

The binding referendum is the first ever held in the Czech Republic and has no turnout requirement.

So far Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia have backed joining the EU in referendums, setting the stage for what will be the largest expansion in the union’s history.

Latvia and Estonia will hold referendums in September. Of the 10 candidate states, only Cyprus has decided not to hold a vote on membership.