From its modest beginnings as the six-state European Coal and Steel Community in 1952, the economic and political integration of Europe has evolved into a European Union that hopes to encompass nearly 500 million citizens by the year 2007.
The accession of 10 states on 1 May 2004, including eight postcommunist countries, was an historic expansion -- the biggest enlargement in EU history -- and brings the total number of members to 25. New-member states are Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Candidate countries Bulgaria and Romania are expected to join in 2007, and Croatia hopes to follow soon after. Turkey's future as a member remains undecided, but accession talks are scheduled for 3 October 2005. It appears the EU is fulfilling its mission as it expands eastward and accepts new countries devastated in the past century by war, genocide, and authoritarian regimes.
But recent events have caused many to claim the EU is in a state of emergency. At the end of May and beginning of June 2005, voters in France and the Netherlands rejected the European Constitutional Treaty. The treaty must be ratified by all 25-member states in order for the constitution to be official -- effectively the French and Dutch votes have killed any hopes of ratification.
"People will tell you next that Europe is not in a crisis," Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said. "It is in a deep crisis."
But some countries, such as Juncker's own, have said they will press on and hold referendums.
The debates will continue -- is the EU facing a severe crisis or will the democratic origins of the union hold this political, economic, and monetary union together at this time when it appears most vulnerable?
Look to this page for RFE/RL's coverage of EU enlargement and related issues.
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