Czechs take look at EU membership after approving referendum

PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- A day after voting decisively to join the European Union, Czechs on Sunday began looking ahead to the benefits -- and expected hardships -- of integration.

The sober debate came after fireworks lit up the sky over Prague Castle to celebrate the participation of this central European country of 10 million in the EU's major expansion next year.

"The EU is not a prescription, it is an opportunity and we have to solve our own problems and modernize our society," Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla said Sunday in a televised debate.

The victory followed a lackluster campaign that nonetheless persuaded Czechs of the benefits of joining the 15-nation bloc, which is expected to grow to 25 members in May.

Supporters said membership was the only way for the Czech Republic to stabilize its economy, raise living standards for future generations and move with the European mainstream.

But there was some reluctance to handing over the nation's fate to outsiders in a country that endured Nazi occupation and decades of communist rule. Critics feared that the tiny country in central Europe will be overshadowed by bigger members like Germany and France.

Opponents also warned that EU membership will not solve the Czech economic problems.

Spidla and other EU supporters conceded a lot of work needs to be done but said it will be easier to solve such problems inside the bloc.

"If we had said no, we would have become isolated ... (and) to solve our problems would be more difficult for us," Spidla said.

Mirek Topolanek, the head of the main opposition Civic Democratic Party -- which supports EU membership, also warned that the country would "have to undertake changes that will hurt."

Among other reforms, the Czechs will need to revamp their pension system and the armed forces to cut costs in order to comply with EU requirements.

Jefim Fistejn, a political analyst opposed to the EU, predicted that social unrest and frequent strikes would result from government attempts to push through painful reforms.

"The time is coming soon for sobering up and hangovers," he said. "And the people will not blame themselves, but the politicians who led them to this vote."

The binding referendum was a first in the Czech Republic, which was under Soviet control until 1989 and split from Slovakia in 1993. There was no turnout requirement, but with more than half of the country's 8.2 million eligible voters participating, Spidla's government could claim a public mandate for the reforms needed for membership.

Spidla holds a fragile majority of only one vote in the 200-seat lower chamber of Parliament.

Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia also have backed joining the EU in referendums. Latvia and Estonia will hold referendums in September.

Of the 10 candidates, only Cyprus has decided not to hold a vote on membership.