Netherlands · 25th anniversary of the 2004 EU enlargement

The 2004 enlargement of the European Union was connected with the political changes in Europe following the end of the Cold War. Several countries in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe had changed their political and economic systems and sought closer integration into the European Communities. With their accession, the division of Europe that had previously existed was further overcome at the institutional level.

On 1 May 2004, Cyprus, Malta, Poland, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined the European Union. It was the largest enlargement round up to that time. Among other requirements, the acceding countries had to meet the rule-of-law and democratic requirements, have functioning market economies and adopt the common body of European Union law. These conditions were summarized under the term Copenhagen criteria.

The admission of the new member states changed the political geography of the European Union. Its institutions, decision-making procedures and common programmes had to be adapted to the larger number of members. At the same time, cooperation was intensified between countries that had previously belonged to different political blocs. For the populations of the new member states, accession was associated with the opportunity to move, work and study more freely within the Union. Depending on the country and area, these rights were introduced in part through transitional arrangements.

The Netherlands had already been part of the European Union before the enlargement and had participated in European integration. The commemorative coin therefore addresses the anniversary from the perspective of common European development. Its occasion does not commemorate a single national event, but rather a change in the composition and political order of the European Union. The choice of this theme points to the long-term cooperation among its member states and to the admission of the ten countries into the common European structures.