By Janet McEvoy

BRUSSELS, June 25 (Reuter) - The European Union urged Slovakia on Wednesday to withdraw a controversial history book disclaiming the persecution of Slovak Jews during World War Two.

External Relations Commissioner Hans van den Broek told reporters he had appealed for the book's withdrawal to Slovakia's new foreign minister Zdenka Kramplova, who was in Brussels to discussSlovakia's ambitions to join the 15-nation bloc at its next expansion.

``I have asked her to take back this message that this work should disappear from the shelves as soon as possible,'' Van den Broek told reporters in reply to a question.

``It can create misunderstanding about what's being thought in Slovakia about the war period and anti-semitism.''

Van den Broek, who will announce on July 16 what the Commission thinks officially about the suitability of 10 eastern European countries to join the EU, said he had also reiterated earlier concerns about the political situation in Slovakia in general.

``At the moment we still have to overcome a number of obstacles, notably in the political domain,'' he said. ``There cannot be any misunderstanding about what quality of democracy the EU requires from its own members and from its future members.''

Kramplova said the Bratislava government was trying to improve the situation.

``I underlined that the Slovak government is taking the necessary steps to calm down the political situation in Slovakia and is working for solutions that will be acceptable for everyone,'' she told reporters, without referring directly to the controversial book.

The book -- The History of Slovakia and the Slovaks by Milan Durica -- was published with financing from the European Union's Phare programme and has come under heavy criticism from Jewish groups and historians.

It was published by the Slovakian Ministry of Education and has been recommended as a handbook for history lessons in schools.

Tracing Slovak history from the First Century AD to modern times, the book denies any persecution of Slovakia's 70,000-strong Jewish community under the clero-fascist Slovak State, a Nazi German puppet set up in March 1939.

Fewer than 10,000 Slovak Jews survived the Holocaust and Slovakia's Jewish community now numbers around 4,000.

Van den Broek said that on economic grounds Slovakia's performance was encouraging. Kramplova said Slovakia hoped to be in the first group of easterners to open negotiations with the EU early next year.