By voting in favour of the Nice treaty Ireland will receive a number of benefits. Enlargement of the European Union will offer excellent opportunities for Irish businesses. As an nation which exports 90% of goods and services developed here, Ireland needs to be in a position to penetrate new marketplaces as we have successfully done within the European Union since we first joined in 1973. In 1994, Ireland's exports to the applicant countries of central and eastern Europe were worth £160 million. In 2000, they were worth £1.187 billion – a sevenfold increase in a matter of six years. Imagine how much that figure is likely to increase as our exporters are given freer access to these markets.