Malta · 25th anniversary of the 2004 EU enlargement

On 1 May 2004, ten countries joined the European Union simultaneously: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. This increased the Union from 15 to 25 member states. It was the largest admission of new members in the history of the European Union.

The enlargement was the result of several years of accession negotiations. The conditions for admission included stable democratic institutions, respect for the rule of law and human rights, and a functioning market economy. The acceding countries also had to adopt large parts of the acquis communautaire and adapt their administrations to the Union’s rules and procedures.

For Malta, accession marked a step from a long period of independent state development towards closer political and economic cooperation with its European neighbours. The island state brought its own history, its Mediterranean location and its official languages into the Union. Cyprus was also admitted in 2004; together, they were the first Mediterranean island states in the European Union.

The enlargement changed Europe’s political map. States that had previously belonged to different political and economic systems were integrated into common institutions and decision-making procedures. With accession, the citizens of the new member states gained, among other things, Union citizenship and access to the rights associated with membership. The anniversary therefore commemorates neither an individual person nor a building, but an institutional step that reshaped the composition and geographical scope of the European Union.