The 'big bang' one year down the road

"Twelve months on, slowly but surely, even the biggest doubters have to accept that far from a threat, enlargement represents for both sides an opportunity," said Luxembourg (current holder of the rotation EU presidency) Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker.

French President Jacques Chirac: "The reality of Europe is this: a process of getting people and economies together for the benefit of all." He added: "Experience shows that, in these areas, those who believe in an invasion of low-cost products are quickly contradicted by the advantages linked to a tide of growing exports." 

Calling it a happy event, the European Commission's President José Manuel Barroso  sent a confident message underlining that fears had been largely unfounded: 

"It is a forceful reminder that openness towards others - and not isolationism - is what drives the EU and yields results. With 25 members - 27 in around two years time - the EU is strengthening its position on the international stage.

The arrival of ten new member states bridged that artificial divide between eastern and western Europe. But the enlarged Europe has not closed in on itself. It is open to all countries which belong in Europe, subscribe to our values and meet the Union’s accession conditions. We are still getting to know each other, getting to grips with the new realities of our community. And that will take time. We must be patient and give ourselves the time to learn about and get to know each other."

The Polish Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner observed: "Some people feared that the new member states would be unable to absorb the substantial  structural assistance offered by the EU, but so far these fears have proved unfounded. EU funds are helping to realise the enormous growth potential that exists in these economies, and they are contributing to visible improvements in governance and administrative capacity."

Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said in a press interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung that there was a certain 'enlargement fatigue' after the in-take of ten new member states. Indirectly admitting some of the failings of past negotiations, he said that, in the future case of Turkey, Brussels "will rely less on promises and act more on the basis of hard facts". He added that "further enlargements must be gradual  and carefully managed to ensure that European citizens support them and that the Union maintains its capacity to act". Rehn regretted that the "objective successes" of enlargement will be obscured in a time of weak growth in the EU-15: "People fear for  their jobs and feel insecure."  

"The problems we are facing in Europe have nothing to do with enlargement, they have to do with a lack of willingness to carry out reforms in the old member states," said former Czech Commissioner Pavel Telicka to United Press International.

Former leader of the Polish Solidarnosc labour movement, Lech Walesa, who was instrumental in bringing about the fall of Communism in the USSR, accused the EU-15 of not treating the new members in an equal manner: "I only see egoism, especially in France", said Walesa to Associated Press. "When we talk about Europe, where is the equality? They have money for their own farmers, but not for our farmers."