LATVIA: Latvia faces a cliffhanger vote on Saturday when it becomes the last of 10 countries to decide whether to join the 15-nation EU.
Attention turned to Latvia after its Baltic neighbour, Estonia, voted overwhelmingly to join the EU in a weekend referendum, prompting some commentators to predict a domino effect in Saturday's ballot.
"Latvian support for the EU is barely over the 50 per cent mark at the moment so we could be heading for a very close race," said Baltic political expert Mr Artis Pabriks. "I think the Estonian Yes will give the Latvian pro-EU campaign a boost."
The latest opinion poll has shown a quarter of voters in the small ex-Soviet republic are still undecided, with 51.3 per cent in favour of EU membership and 23.8 per cent against.
Latvia is the last of 10 countries invited to join the EU next May to hold a membership referendum. The nine other countries have said Yes to joining. A No would end the EU's enlargement from 15 to 25 members on a sour note.
Last Sunday, neighbouring Estonia voted by 66.9 per cent in favour of joining the EU, with the No camp had 33.1 per cent.
Even before the Estonian pro-EU camp had declared victory, the Latvian President, Ms Vaira Vike-Freiberga, was urging voters to say Yes. "I think the Estonian vote will influence the Latvians to vote Yes. Now it's Latvia's time to conclude the Baltic way that started 12 years ago with our independence."
Malta, Slovenia, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Estonia have all held ballots to join the EU. Cyprus will also join, but is not holding a referendum.
Latvia, one of the poorest of the 10 accession counties, has seen a step rise in economic growth over recent years, and had a 6.1 per cent rise in GDP last year. However, huge differences between rich and poor remain a problem in the country, and ethnicity continues to be a sensitive issue due to the large Russian minority of almost one-third of the population.
Latvia's political and economic elite is united in the pro-EU drive, arguing that EU entry would boost the economy, create jobs and raise living standards in the country.
However, many people are suspicious of entering the EU little more than a decade after quitting the Soviet Union, saying Brussels is too remote to care for the interests of a small nation of 2.4 million people.
Analysts say a limp campaign focusing on the wallet rather than values has failed to stir enthusiasm.