10 More Countries Join E.U.

In Cyprus, membership will only apply to the Greek side for the time being.

State and government leaders from the now 25 E.U. member countries are gathering in current E.U. Term President Ireland’s capital of Dublin for the accession ceremony. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also travel to Dublin to represent Turkey, which hopes to start its membership discussions later this year.

The Union’s foundation was laid with the Paris Treaty in 1951. The E.U. has gone through five enlargements to date, transforming into a Union with 25-member countries, 20-official languages, and a population of 455-million population. The E.U. now borders Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine in the east. With their total population of 75 million, the 10 new countries make up one fifth of the Union’s total population.

With the new countries, the map of Europe grows by 25 percent. However, the new members will only contribute five percent to the common wealth of the Union. Per capita income in these new countries is 40 percent of the average per capita incomes of the 15 other members. According to the latest poll by Barometer, the Union’s institute of statistics, the first two things these new members would like to learn about the Union are its welfare policy and its economy.

The Union reached a decision to enlarge in 1997, however it currently lacks the strength of its former power of 1981 and 1986. Voices of discontent are heard from the economies that drive the Union. Unemployment, removing or limiting welfare and company bankruptcies are talked about in almost all member countries. Apart from the economic issues, the political dimension of the enlargement also brings significant questions. It is wondered what the Union, which fails to take joint-decisions and fell apart over the Iraqi crisis, will do with 25 members. Therefore, the June 17-18 E.U. Constitution summit is crucially important.