Prague - Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek welcomed Washington's decision, announced Friday by US President George W Bush, to allow Czechs to travel to the United States without visas.

The new policy is set to go into effect within a month.

"It is virtually the largest success we could have achieved. It lifts the last relic of communism and the Cold War. I am thus very happy," Topolanek said in a statement.

Czech officials have earlier signaled that the visas could be lifted on November 17, the 19th anniversary of a student march that led to the so-called Velvet Revolution, the peaceful fall of communism in then Czechoslovakia.

Earlier this year, the Czech Republic broke ranks with the European Union and signed a bilateral deal with the United States that enabled visa-free travel for Czech citizens to the United States.

The step angered officials in Brussels, who called for a common visa policy.

The Czechs then agreed to stricter rules for visa-free travel to the United States than those already in place for the EU's western European members. (dpa)