EU boost for Slovakia

Mr Verheugen (left) offered words of encouragement to Slovakia's Roma people

By Ray Furlong in Prague

The EU commissioner for enlargement, Guenter Verheugen, visited Slovakia on Thursday to assess its attempts to prepare for future membership.

His visit took in some of the most rundown settlements in Slovakia, shanty villages inhabited by the country's Roma minority with unpaved roads and no electricity or running water.

But Mr Verheugen said he was not shocked, and that the Roma suffered similar living conditions in some member states.

Overall, he said, Slovakia had achieved remarkable progress in catching up with its neighbours in accession talks.

However, several European countries have introduced visas for Slovak citizens in response to waves of Roma asylum seekers, who are considered economic migrants.

'Social discrimination'

Mr Verheugen said the Roma people suffer social discrimination.

Meciar was ousted in elections two years ago

But he added that it need not be an obstacle to Slovakia's EU aspirations as long as the government was doing something to overcome their problems.

The government is expected to approve measures in the next two weeks to improve housing conditions for the Roma community, which makes up about 10% of the population.

But many observers say it could take generations to make substantial progress in relations between the Slovak and Roma communities.

His visit was an important boost to Slovakia's pro-western prime minister, Mikulas Dzurinda, who has made EU membership his government's priority since taking office in late 1998.

The country was earlier left out of negotiations due to the authoritarian style of its leader at the time, Vladimir Meciar.