A day to celebrate
“We have realised that it is not enough to just wait for the Western Balkans to move closer to us. It is not enough to say that the door is open, we must also take responsibility and support their path towards our union in any possible way.” – Ursula Von der Leyen, EU-Commission President
Dear Friends of Democracy,
Twenty years ago yesterday, on the 1st of May 2004, the following states joined the European Union:
🇨🇾 Cyprus,
🇨🇿 the Czech Republic,
🇪🇪 Estonia,
🇭🇺 Hungary,
🇱🇻 Latvia,
🇱🇹 Lithuania,
🇲🇹 Malta,
🇵🇱 Poland,
🇸🇰 Slovakia and
🇸🇮 Slovenia.
These ten countries made it the largest enlargement in terms of people and number of countries. EU was boosting its population by almost 75 million people.
The countries have since enjoyed substantial economic growth. According to EU data, over the past 20 years, the EU's economy has grown by 27 per cent. The economies of Poland and Malta, in particular, more than doubled, while Slovakia grew by 80 per cent.
The anniversary reminds us that the same number of countries are waiting to join the Union to become part of the success story.
These are the nine recognised candidates for membership of the European Union:
🇦🇱 Albania (since 2020),
🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina (2016),
🇬🇪 Georgia (2022),
🇲🇩 Moldova (2022),
🇲🇪 Montenegro (2012),
🇲🇰 North Macedonia (2020),
🇷🇸 Serbia (2014),
🇹🇷 Turkey (2005), and
🇺🇦 Ukraine (2022).
There is also the special case of 🇽🇰 Kosovo, whose independence is not recognised by five EU member states. Kosovo formally submitted its application for membership in 2022 and is considered a potential candidate by the European Union.
✊ Some countries have been waiting quite a long time to join. And some authoritarian governments are happy about every year in which the recognised candidates are kept on hold. It increases the likelihood that the country's mood will change and turn away from the EU. On the other hand, joining at any price makes no sense. The EU thrives on its member states being democratic constitutional states. And as we know there are deficits in both candidate and EU member states. So, strengthening the rule of law in all 37 member and candidate states is crucial. At least most governments are aware of the problem.
See you in Europe,
Johannes