France · 25th anniversary of the 2004 EU enlargement

On 1 May 2004, ten countries joined the European Union: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus. As a result, the European Union grew from 15 to 25 member states. It was the largest enlargement round since its foundation.

The accession was the result of a process lasting several years. The candidate countries had to meet political and economic requirements and adopt the European Union’s common body of law, known as the acquis. These included democratic institutions, the protection of minorities, a functioning market economy and the ability to implement the obligations of membership. The accession treaties were signed in Athens in 2003.

The enlargement was connected with the political changes in Europe following the end of the Cold War. It gave countries in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe a firm place within a common political and economic order. At the same time, relations between the existing and the new member states were placed on a common legal basis. With accession, the citizens of the new member states also became citizens of the Union; transitional arrangements applied in some cases to the practical exercise of individual rights.

The admission of Malta and Cyprus also enlarged the Union by two Mediterranean islands. Cyprus joined as a divided state; European Union law was suspended in the northern part of the island.

The anniversary therefore commemorates not only the admission of ten new members, but also a political process intended to overcome the division of Europe and consolidate cooperation across former bloc borders. The choice of this occasion for a commemorative coin relates to the shared history of the member states and to the development of the European Union.