EU: Today 10 new member-states will join the European Union. This marks an unprecedented historic event, with the largest single enlargement the Union has ever seen uniting 25 sovereign states in peaceful integration, writes Javier Solana
It once again confirms the original raison d'être of the European Community, set up with the bold and ambitious vision in the wake of the second World War to ensure that such an atrocity could never happen again and to ensure that the citizens of Europe could live together and build for prosperity in peace.
The enlarged Union will count 450 million citizens and will represent the biggest and most successful example of regional integration in the world. This is in itself very significant.
But most important of all is that the enlargement will strengthen the EU as a Union governed by the rule of law, united in its diversity and fully committed to the principles of liberty, democracy and stability, and to the ever closer union of peoples.
It can be all too easy to take these very clear fundamental principles and objectives for granted as we become absorbed in debates on technical aspects of European Union membership, but their importance could not be more obvious. The 10 new member-states share these values and they belong to Europe.
Enlargement is also marked by unprecedented achievements on all sides. The states of central and eastern Europe have turned themselves into solid democracies and fully functioning market economies in a remarkably short period of time.
Driven by the prospect of membership, they have undertaken radical and fundamental reforms at all levels with a vigour which can only deserve the admiration of all.
In comparison to previous enlargements, the challenges have been considerable. In the years since the first enlargement in 1973, sovereignty and competences have been pooled on a much wider range of policies. The EU now offers a wide-ranging single market, an economic and monetary union with the euro as a common currency, the "Schengen area", providing citizens with more internal freedom of movement, co-operation in the field of justice, and a common foreign and security policy.
Meeting the requirements of EU membership today is tough, calling for considerable efforts at all levels, and has only been achieved by the new member-states with the tenacious commitment, leadership and conviction of all.
It is also a credit to the European Union's pre-accession strategy that the seemingly unattainable goal of reuniting the European continent has been achieved in such a short period of time. Launched in 1993, the strategy was addressed to the needs of each of the candidates, offering for the first time in a single framework considerable financial assistance in support of the preparations for membership.
Clearly in terms of economic and social development the new member-states still have some catching up to do. Membership will be a catalyst in this regard both for generating prosperity and for increasing solidarity among the member-states.
The new member-states will benefit from EU structural assistance. But accession is more than just about money: the progress achieved by my own country, Spain, during almost 20 years of membership demonstrates how accession can bring about positive political, democratic, social and economic change.
I have no reason to believe it will be otherwise for the 10 new member-states.
The Union is, of course, not a stranger to change itself, and it can be said that it in fact thrives on its own dynamic of progress and forward movement. In this respect, the new member-states join it at an important moment.
It is hoped that the discussions on the draft Constitution can be successfully completed in June 2004. This will mark an important turning point. I am confident that there will be the necessary political will, responsibility and determination to act in the best interests of the European Union and of the future of Europe.
Given its common objective to make Europe a continent of democracy, freedom, peace and prosperity, the Union is proving to be a very attractive club, and the enlargement train shows no sign of slowing down. Bulgaria and Romania, which started negotiations in 2000, are part of an inclusive and irreversible process.
Provided they are ready, it is our objective to welcome them into the Union in January 2007.
Both countries are strategically important for the European Union and for political and economic stability in the Balkans. The path to membership is not easy, but I am confident that with the necessary political determination they will be able to meet the demands of EU membership on time.
The Union will also be taking other important decisions in the near future: first at the European Council in June on whether to begin accession negotiations with Croatia, and later this December on the prospect of opening accession negotiations with Turkey. The Council of the European Union will soon also examine the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's recent application for membership.
In pursuit of its commitment not to tolerate any new dividing lines in Europe, the Union's European Neighbourhood Policy aims to promote stability and prosperity beyond the new borders of the Union both to the east and to the south.
This will deepen our existing bilateral relations to the mutual benefit of the Union and our neighbours, allowing them to participate progressively in major EU policies and programmes, including the EU single market.
So much has already been done, and paradoxically we are now in a situation where May 1st could be an anti-climax. The new member-states are well prepared, with many aspects of membership already a reality at home. In Brussels, the Union of 25 is in full force to face the challenges ahead.
We are counting on our new members when the big decisions need to be taken. Their arrival serves as a constant reminder of what the Union is all about, diversity in unity.
Javier Solana is the EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy