| dc.description.abstract | This report examines the implications and challenges of the forthcoming enlargement of the European Union (EU). In the first place, it tries to give answers to the main questions which are posed by citizens during the process of ratification for ten new members to join on 1 May 2004. Why is the EU extending from 15 to 25 (and later more) members? What will be the effects of enlargement on the daily lives of citizens? Are the hopes and doubts, expressed in present and future member countries, well founded? These questions of citizens deserve serious answers. My aim is to set out in a balanced way not only the benefits and opportunities of bringing new members into the EU, but also the potential obstacles, costs and risks. In the second place, it addresses the main challenges which enlargement poses. The accession of 10 countries in 2004 is only a stage in a process that began more than a decade ago, and will continue for many years. Much has been achieved on the way, by both old and new members, but more remains to be done. How to make a success of enlargement? What needs to be done to obtain its full benefit, rather than a partial success, or even a failure? My aim is to set out the main areas in which the EU needs to develop a strategy for successful enlargement. | en |
