Soviet Union to European Union

[Nottingham]

Soviet Union to European Union
By Nicholas George and Stefan Wagstyl
Published: September 13 2003 5:00 | Last Updated: September 13 2003 5:00

Tarm Priisalm is voting early in Estonia's crucial referendum on European Union membership, taking advantage of rules that permit voting before tomorrow, the main polling day.
The 27-year-old IT management student at Audentes private university, on the outskirts of Tallinn, would appear a strong backer of the country's membership of the EU, but Mr Priisalm has just voted against joining.

He says: "Things are going well in Estonia right now. Economic growth is 5-6 per cent, compared with 1-2 per cent in the EU. Joining will slow us down."
Mr Priisalm's views show that even among educated east Europeans there are doubts about the EU's 2004 enlargement. Estonia is the eighth of the nine countries planning to join the EU next year to hold a referendum. It will be followed next Sunday by neighbouring Latvia. The 10th, Cyprus, has ratified membership without a popular vote.

Only in Malta has there been serious opposition. Lithuania, Estonia's and Latvia's fellow in the Baltic states, voted 91 per cent in favour of joining in May. The outcome in Estonia is also expected to be a Yes, but the majority is likely to be far less convincing. In Latvia, voters are even more finely balanced, with recent opinion polls showing support for membership at barely over 50 per cent.


more....



http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/redir.php?jid=26c16c4bbe11d291

The european union would have major power over these countries and ya have to wonder who would be at the helm of such power????

:bounce: