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Welcome to a New Europe, trumpet world leaders

DUBLIN: World leaders on Saturday hailed the EU’s historic expansion saying it would usher in an era of unparalleled prosperity in Europe and finally heal the scars gouged across the continent by World War II.

“Welcome to the new Europe,” European Commission head Romano Prodi said in his official statement from Brussels as 10 new members joined the European Union to swell its ranks to 25 members. “Today Europeans are celebrating the fact that they are no longer kept apart by phoney ideological barriers,” he added. At the stroke of midnight Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia all joined the EU in its biggest expansion since it was founded in 1957 as a six-member trading bloc. The body of almost half a billion people now becomes the world’s largest trading bloc, and 15 years after the collapse of the Berlin Wall is laying to rest divisions entrenched after the war by the rise of the communist Soviet Union.

“The accession by the 10 new member states symbolises the healing of Cold War rifts across Europe and sends a strong message about Europe’s resolve to create lasting stability and prosperity for its citizens,” Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said in a statement.

“I welcome the prospect of a strong and united Europe as a partner in the fight against international terrorism, in enhancing global prosperity and in addressing other challenges confronting the international community.”

The US ambassador to the EU Rockwell A Schnabel has already hailed the economic advantages as the bloc expands its single market to encompass 450 million consumers.

“By bringing these 10 new states in as full members, the EU is extending a zone of peace, stability, democracy and prosperity to a part of the continent that just 15 years ago enjoyed none of those things,” he said. “That’s good for them, it’s good for Europe as a whole, and it is good for the US.” British Prime Minister Tony Blair Friday also played up the economic advantages of an expanded Europe and argued it would boost London’s influence in Europe. He said the eight former communist states were particularly conscious of the role they had to play in securing Europe’s peace and prosperity.

“Having just escaped from the dead hand of communism, they share the British view that their future prosperity rests on a liberal, competitive economy,” he wrote in an article for The Times newspaper published Friday.

“I believe too, that the accession will be a catalyst for change within the EU, helping to give a new push to Britain’s agenda and fresh impetus to priorities which are already in the ascendancy in Europe.” Prodi said enlargement would help the economies of the new member states grow by an extra two percentage points annually and added that some existing members would see their growth grow by a half percentage point a year.

A single market had been born “in which almost half a billion people live and work; a market characterised by weak inflation, good fiscal discipline and a strong potential for growth,” he added.

The celebrations were most marked in the 10 new member countries as they ushered in EU membership with midnight fireworks and parties.

“Ladies and gentlemen we are making history,” Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski proclaimed before a soldier hoisted the blue yellow-star-speckled European flag at the tomb of the unknown soldier in central Warsaw.

“Latvia has prepared for the EU, Latvia has strived and argued and achieved a result. Now it is time to celebrate,” President Vaira-Vike Freiberga said to a crowd of 30,000 gathered for a concert on the banks of Riga’s Daugava River. One of the most symbolic ceremonies of the evening was in the town of Nova Gorica on the Italian-Slovene border that was divided after World War II and now symbolises the reunification of East and West. “The physical barrier between us has fallen,” Slovenian Prime Minister Anton Rop said.

Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands sent a telegram to each of the 10 new members joyfully welcoming them into the European family. “This is a historic day for all Europe ... A great step has been taken towards the unification of Europe.” But in one sour note, Euro-sceptic Czech President Vaclav Klaus, voiced the fears of many about the future in a bloc with vast economic and social disparities. “I want to welcome both those who look forward to EU entry and those who see it with definite qualms. But I want to warn that they could be disillusioned.” —AFP

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