Old Europe embracing New Europe

[Starchild]

Much catchier title than "EU Expansion". From da BBC

EU takes major expansion step


EU leaders hailed the move to reunite a once divided continent
European leaders meeting in Athens have made history by signing a treaty on the largest expansion of the European Union yet.
The treaty cements plans for the fifth enlargement of the union since the creation of the six-member European Community in 1957.

Ten new members, eight of them from the former communist bloc, will formally join the EU in May 2004, if ratification goes according to plan, taking the number of EU states to 25.

Quotations of the day in Athens

"It is only today that the Berlin Wall has truly fallen," said Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.

As the signing ceremony took place in the shadow of the Acropolis, the birthplace of democracy, anti-war protesters threw petrol bombs at police, who replied with tear gas.

Several people were injured.

ACCESSION STATES
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Hungary
Latvia
Lithuania
Malta
Poland
Slovakia
Slovenia

The European leaders agreed an Athens Declaration, in which they expressed their determination to put an end to centuries of conflict on the European continent.

The leaders of four of the larger EU states - France, Germany, Spain and the UK - also tried to overcome their divisions on the war in Iraq.

The first two are anti-war while the second two are pro-war, but reports from Athens said they managed to agree on a two-part statement, which was was being circulated among EU members for approval.

In other developments:

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said he and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had agreed on the importance of the role of the United Nations in Iraq, during their meeting in Athens;


French President Jacques Chirac softened his earlier criticism of Eastern European states for their pro-US stance, calling on the new Europe to show solidarity with the "European family";


Mr Chirac was quoted as saying that France would be flexible in working with the US and British forces now running Iraq, after his first face-to-face meeting with Mr Blair since the war began;


The head of the European Convention drafting a new EU constitution, former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, said a draft would be released at a 20 June summit in Greece despite his earlier calls for more time.

The Athens Declaration had been intended to mention the war in Iraq, but the phrase was dropped from the final text.


Violence on the streets marred the optimistic mood of the summit
The declaration said the EU was committed to facing up to its global responsibilities, and that it would "support conflict prevention, promote justice, help secure peace and defend global security".

It added: "We are determined to work at all levels to tackle global terrorism and stem the weapons of mass destruction."

European Commission President Romano Prodi welcomed "75 million new European citizens" who are expected to join the EU next year.

"This is your home too now," he said.

"It is yours to cherish, to make yourselves at home in, to dream in, to adorn, to extend even further."

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy said the EU's eastward expansion was "a debt that destiny is paying back".

"If only my father and mother were alive to see this," he added.

"It is the realisation of a dream."

[BeBro]

Welcome, fellow Eurocoms

[Spiffor]

Glad to see Poland actually enters. I've heard Europe became increasingly unpopular there in the past years.

[Lonestar]

I see Turkey was left out once more...

[Sava]

Originally posted by Lonestar
I see Turkey was left out once more...

Good. I think the door to the EU reads "Freedom loving and tolerant societies only".

[DanS]

[PLATO]

French President Jacques Chirac softened his earlier criticism of Eastern European states for their pro-US stance, calling on the new Europe to show solidarity with the "European family";

Daddy Chirac cajoles the children.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Don't you need more stars on that flag now?

Will it still be in the shape of a circle?

[gsmoove23]

Hurry up guys, its lonely being the only superpwer.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Will it still be in the shape of a circle?

Concentric circles would be great.

Old Europe embracing New Europe

“We are the EU. Your cultural and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistence is futile.”

[dannubis]

funny how the same can be said about the us

and yeah, i like the idea of concentric circles ...

[Harovan]

There won't be more stars in the flag, they'll always be twelve. The EU already had more than 12 members before the new countries joined.

Anyway, welcome new members.

[Henrik]

EU takes major expansion step

[Saras]

Lazy Eurocom corporations, behold the might of lean and mean Lithuanian competition!!!!!

[Demerzel]

Originally posted by Lonestar
I see Turkey was left out once more...

as Chris Patten has said before, the USA has countless times offered Turkey membership of the EU - maybe we should offer Mexico membership of the USA?

nah Turkey has been refused a date of entry because of its human rights problems amongst others - when they resolve that, they'll get new talks on entry.

but EU expansion is definitely a

[Spiffor]

The absence of Turkey is no news : the new members of this salvo have been officially decided for years. After years of preparation to match EU requirements, this treaty is the last formality : it is only a symbolical date, without any decision being taken there.

The next enlargement is planned for 2007 IIRC, with Romania, Bulgaria, and the Baltic States (correct me if I'm wrong). It has been decided not long ago that Turkey would be out of this one. Turkey is trying to improve their human rights records drastically to match the EU requirements at some point. Turkey has an agreement with the EU, where trade is as advantageous as it would be under full membership, or more advantageous (i.e does'nt cut both ways).

[Saras]

Originally posted by Spiffor

The next enlargement is planned for 2007 IIRC, with Romania, Bulgaria, and the Baltic States (correct me if I'm wrong).

You're wrong; we signed the accession treaty yesterday; could have done it on friday, it's much better when you DON'T have to work with a hangover

[Spiffor]

And it was in the article too

So, how was the party yesterday ?

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Sava

Good. I think the door to the EU reads "Freedom loving and tolerant societies only".

I guess that means that Serbia gets in a decade after Turkey.

[Saras]

Originally posted by Spiffor

And it was in the article too

So, how was the party yesterday ?

Don't ask Got my arse kicked verbally by wife

[Spiffor]

Indeed, Serbia is not planned as of yet. I think no other country than Slovenia from the former Yugoslavia had plans for long to enter the EU. It is possible the end of the Milosevic era brought some political will to enter the EU in Serbia, but I don't know.

[JohnT]

[VetLegion]

Good work new members

I hope they make the most of it, and that citizens of europe accept them as brothers and equals.

Indeed, Serbia is not planned as of yet. I think no other country than Slovenia from the former Yugoslavia had plans for long to enter the EU. It is possible the end of the Milosevic era brought some political will to enter the EU in Serbia, but I don't know.

Arhm. Wrong. Croatia plans to 'catch the 2007 train' as it stated when officialy applying for membership recently. What are the chances of that actually happening I have no idea.

We are being kept out for most exotic reasons like Hague cooperation, human rights abuses, rampant nationalism and other trivia

Actually I want it to happen as soon as possible because I want to move to scandinavia and live off the welfare, while drinking beer and chasing blond girls. *burp*


And Serbia plans to enter the EU eventually, but they havent even officialy applied for membership yet. What I hear from the news, they arrested some 4000 suspicious types after the Djindic assassination and it looks like they are going to clean the whole country in one giant sweep

I admire that. Here in Croatia the government is too weak to deal with organized crime decisivly.


Then, Macedonia. They either have applied just few weeks ago or will apply very soon, I don't remember. They also would like to enter in 2007 since just about everybody is sure the next expansion is going to be who-knows-when, maybe during the reign of Bush III?

Their chances are a bit weaker then Croatia's (which are not themselves very good) so there is no saying when it will happen.

Bosnia, a true protectorate. Eventually, also in EU, but if EU takes only orderly, stable countries, we may see it happen right after Iraq and Iran get in. Needs a lot of work if not to become another northern ireland type of never ending tensions or violence.

[Sava]

I guess that means that Serbia gets in a decade after Turkey.

Considering all your knowledge of Serbia comes from Foxnews...

[ThePantaloonDog]

Arhm. Wrong. Croatia plans to 'catch the 2007 train' as it stated when officialy applying for membership recently. What are the chances of that actually happening I have no idea.

A Croatian friend of mine was debating whether Croatia should join Slovenia it a new Yugoslovia just so Croatia could be in the EU.

I told him that after the last one maybe you guys should just forget about the whole Slavic brotherhood thing.

I'd be interested in seeing how the whole Cyprus thing works out though.

[yago]

I am very happy to be embedded in a superpower.

Let Europe Arise.

[Spiffor]

Thanks for the info Vetlegion. I had expected the end of the Milosevic era would open hope for former Yugoslavian countries to enter the EU, but I didn't know it was official already. My sources date back to last year (courses on European enlargement), so these countries didn't even apply at that time.

I(m glad to see former Yugoslavians want to be part of the EU. I would be very happy when they'll enter, meaning these countries will be stable enough, and will profit from massive investment

[axi]

The 25 leaders who participated in the festivities did so in the inside of one of the strictest "red zones" ever imposed. In a mobilisation much bigger than that of Genova, the Greek police used 20.000 cops to totally block out about half the downtown (plus major arteries to and from the airport). Note that Athens is a metropolis of 5.000.000 people. The chaos that ensued was unparralelled, not just because of the traffic mess, but also because many thousands of people had decided to demonstrate.

The demontrations were both against the US and UK occupation of Iraq and against the EU itself. The EU which hypocritically poses as the "force of peace" while half of it's members support the agression and which would do even worse things, if it had the same power and interests that the US has.

The demonstrators converged in the Syntagma square, in front of the parliament. There, there was a clash with the riot police just outside the red zone in two fronts: In the upper side of the square students and people from the radical left tried to break the police cordon and were pushed back with heavy use of chemicals. I was in that block, carrying one of the three poles of a banner somewhere in the middle of the block, about 30m from the front. The police used some really nasty stuff on us and we retreated almost immediately. We made an orderly retreat, yet all the people in front of me came stumbling through our lines and I found myself right at the front when we regrouped. We decided not to have another go at the police cordon and left.

Meanwhile, in the lower side of the square, anarchists attacked the police from a distance with stones and petrol bombs and then were chased away, while many of them were cornered and arrested (there were totally 107 arrests, but there were several bystanders arrested as well - including a Chinese tourist! - and only 80 of them will be prosecuted).

After these events, demonstrators from all blocks marched alongside the red zone, in front of the french, italian and british embassies, the headquarters of the European Comission and finally the US Embassy. There were viloent outbreaks all the way and the use of chemicals by the police was constant. The number of undercover security agents around the demo was awesome and many of them were identified and beaten up by the crowd.

All in all, the attendance of the demos was dissappointing: all blocks added together had about 10.000-15.000 people (there was another demo set for the afternoon, organised by the Communist Party, but I didn't attend and I have no information). This can be explained by the fact that the majority in Greece is emphatically anti-american but pro-EU (something like paiktis and MarkG), and most have high expectations about Cyprus joining the EU as a means to secure the island from turkish agression, so most people outside the left would not demonstrate against the summit. Add to this the desperation over the quick victory of the Americans in Iraq (which will mean an increase in imperialist agression) and the scare tactics of the govt and police forces (the heavy use of chemicals and the brutality against arrested demonstators in most demos this year) and the contrast between yesterday's crowd and the 200.000 of earlier anti-war demos can be explained.

The map below denotes the "red zone".

[Combat Ingrid]

Originally posted by VetLegion
Actually I want it to happen as soon as possible because I want to move to scandinavia and live off the welfare, while drinking beer and chasing blond girls. *burp*

Reminds me of the typical Swedish nationalist rant:
"They come over here and take all our girls! "



Well, you're very welcome to come here and explore the Swedish beers, some of them are very good

[Bereta_Eder]

It will be interesting to see all those countries inside the EU.


I assume it is a positive development.

I'm equally interested in the new constitution of the EU too.