Portugal · 25th anniversary of the 2004 EU enlargement

On 1 May 2004, ten countries joined the European Union simultaneously: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus. This increased the number of Member States from 15 to 25. It was the largest enlargement of the European Union to date in a single step.

The accession was the result of several years of negotiations. Among other things, the applicant countries had to recognise democratic principles and the rule of law, adapt their economies to the requirements of the European single market and adopt the body of European Union law. With their accession, these countries were integrated into the Union’s political institutions, single market and common cooperation.

The enlargement also had a pan-European dimension. Several of the new Member States had previously been part of the Soviet Union’s political and economic sphere of influence or had state systems modelled on that of the Soviet Union. Their admission continued a process of rapprochement that had begun after the end of the division of Europe. At the same time, the Union was expanded geographically and socially to include countries with different historical experiences, languages and political traditions.

Portugal had already been a member of the European Communities, from which the European Union emerged, since 1986. The Portuguese commemorative coin therefore presents the anniversary from the perspective of a long-standing Member State. The occasion refers to the admission of the ten countries as a joint step in European integration and to the cooperation that has existed within the enlarged Union ever since.