Brussels, 14/04/2003 (Agence Europe) - On Monday, in Luxembourg, the Council formally adopted the decision relating to accession by the ten new Member States of the European Union. This act opens the road to the signing of the accession treaty, on 16 April in Athens. From the very next day, the future new Member States will have observer status within the Council and its preparatory bodies. The Council recalls that, after completion of ratification procedures, the ten countries will become Member States of the EU, on 1 May 2004. It also underlines that these countries are part of the history, the heritage and the shared culture of Europe, and that their accession is the fifth and most ambitious enlargement to take place during the history of the EU. Today's decision marks the beginning of a new era throughout Europe, allowing the Union to pursue its aim to build a Europe based on the ideals of democracy, pluralism, the rule of law, full respect of human rights and the market economy, the Council states. It also notes that the negotiation process had begun in 1998 for Cyprus, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, and in 2000 for Malta, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia, and that the enormous task of drafting the 4900 pages of the Treaty and Act of Accession into each of the 21 languages was completed early this year.
Costas Simitis stresses the role of an enlarged Union on the international scene
A Union enlarged in this way ("no longer Western Europe, it is the whole of Europe") should also be strengthened in order to "play its role more effectively in a world multi-centred system, so as to serve peace, cooperation, solidarity and a world community of justice", European Council President Costas Simitis says in a statement published in the Sunday edition of To Vima. "Superpowers should not determine our fate, either today or tomorrow", warns the Greek Prime Minister, without citing the United States. Furthermore, he considers that the current EU common policies "are not sufficient" and that the "European social model must be adjusted, so that with the new social facts, it secures cohesion and solidarity".