Slovenia · 25th anniversary of the 2004 EU enlargement

On 1 May 2004, ten states joined the European Union: Cyprus, Malta, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. This increased the number of member states from 15 to 25. It was the largest enlargement of the Union to date.

Eight of the new members had formerly belonged to the Soviet sphere of influence or had been part of the socialist Eastern Bloc. Their admission was therefore also connected with the political changes following the end of the Cold War and the gradual overcoming of the division of Europe. Cyprus and Malta also brought two Mediterranean islands into the Union.

Prerequisites for accession included stable democratic institutions, respect for the principles of the rule of law and human rights, and a functioning market economy. The candidate countries also had to incorporate the existing law of the European Union, known as the acquis communautaire, into their legal systems. The negotiations lasted several years; the accession treaty was signed in 2003.

For Slovenia, accession meant integration into the political and economic structures of the European Union. Together with the other new member states, the country participated in the Union’s decision-making processes and became part of the European single market. The enlargement therefore changed not only the geographical size but also the institutional and social composition of the European Union.

The anniversary commemorates this step in European integration and the admission of states that, after different historical experiences, entered a common political order. The choice of this occasion for a commemorative coin thus refers to an event that has permanently shaped the development of the European Union and Slovenia’s position within it.