Enlargement

One-minute summary

In 2004, the European Union welcomed ten new member states to take its total to 25. Eight of the new members were former Communist countries from Eastern Europe, and two were Commonwealth countries. This was the latest of five successive enlargements since 1952, when the original six countries set up the EEC.

In order to join the European Union, a candidate country must fulfill the economic and political conditions generally known as the Copenhagen criteria (they were agreed at a 1993 meeting in Copenhagen), including respect for human rights, functioning democracy and market economy. Candidate countries such as Turkey have introduced reforms - often quite fundamental - in order to meet these targets. In this way, the EU can use the prospect of future membership as a way to improve the human rights and quality of life of people even beyond its borders.

• See also: Turkey

Labour views

• Gary Titley MEP: "Enlargement is in all of our interests."
• UK Government: "Enlargement is one of the UK and EU's most successful policies."

Other views

• Conservatives: "Some people have opposed the enlargement of the EU. I believe they are wrong."
• Bruges Group: "We take no pleasure at all in welcoming the countries that more than ten years ago courageously defeated Communism into another, though not so oppressive, supranational, centralised, over-regulated, over-bureaucratised state."

Reference materials

• European Commission on enlargement: A summary of EU policy and latest news.
• Wikipedia on enlargement: Wikipedia is an online user-edited encyclopedia.

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