European Affairs ministers from the 10 main applicant countries have made what amounts to a joint plea for a Yes vote in the Nice referendum.
The unprecedented move comes amid indications that the effort to ratify Nice in a second vote is proving an uphill battle, especially in the light of controversy over the Government's fiscal policies.
The signatories of the statement were the Ministers or State Secretaries for European Affairs of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
They stressed the importance of Nice for the accession process and the need for enlargement as a way of healing the divisions and suffering of the past.
Ireland had used the "benefits stemming from EU membership" with great success and become a role-model for themselves, as applicant states. They accepted that the Irish people had the right to make their own sovereign decision on Nice, but were "strongly convinced" that the electorate here was aware of the opportunities in the process of European integration.
They wished to "underline" that ratifying Nice was an element of the EU's preparations for the admission of new members so that they could join within two years.
The statement would "resonate very strongly with the Irish people", the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, said.
"This statement issued in Warsaw by the European Affairs Ministers of the 10 applicant countries expresses very eloquently the historic importance of the ratification of the Nice Treaty," Mr Cowen said.
While welcoming the acknowledgement by the ministers that the referendum was a matter for the Irish people alone, he said it was clear they viewed the treaty as the international mechanism that will ensure that enlargement of the EU can take place in 2004.
The 10 countries said they "wish to reiterate the importance of the Nice Treaty for the accession process. Enlargement is an historical task. It represents an opportunity to heal the divisions in Europe in the past century which brought such pain and suffering to so many as well as to strengthen peace and security throughout our continent.
"We the representatives of the future member-states see Ireland as a country that accommodated benefits stemming from EU membership with great success and thus became a model for our countries. Ireland's experience is yet another proof that the EU project is a success story.
"We fully respect the right of the Irish people to make their own decision on the Treaty of Nice. We are strongly convinced that Irish people are fully aware of the opportunities that the participation in the European integration process brings.
"We also believe that they clearly see the chances created by EU enlargement.
"In this context we want to underline that the ratification of the Treaty of Nice by all the member-states is one of the elements of EU internal preparations for the admission of new members which will enable us to meet in the Union in 2004."