Speech by European Commission President Romano Prodi at a press conference to mark Accession Day at Dublin Castle today
Taoiseach, President Cox, ladies and gentlemen of the press, distinguished guests,
This is truly an historic and a happy day. It gives me great pleasure to be present here in Dublin on this occasion and to be able to celebrate with you the achievement of a key goal of my Presidency of the European Commission.
Over the past decade we have been preparing the ground for the accession to the European Union of these 10 countries from Central and Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean. The negotiations we have conducted, while difficult at times, bear witness to our common commitment to unify our continent and finally to end the artificial division the Iron Curtain imposed on us for more than half a century.
As Ireland's National Forum on Europe reported, enlargement is a "win-win" exercise for all the peoples of our continent. Together we can now set about consolidating a free and prosperous Union, a joint enterprise that enables us to help one another to strengthen our shared democratic values and to create an area of stability that can hopefully serve as a model for less fortunate regions of the world.
This is a noble ambition worthy of the inheritors of a rich civilisation, but it is one that has often eluded us at various times in our history.
Although the Union is now closer to becoming geographically coterminous with our continent, we still have much unfinished business to attend to. Last weekend's disappointing referendum result in Cyprus demonstrates that the achievement of the grand goal of a broad-based European unification can still be undermined by unresolved regional concerns.
Throughout its relatively brief history, the European Union has already demonstrated its capacity to act as a reliable and trustworthy broker in overcoming such problems. Indeed the Union's capacity to accommodate diversity is one of its strengths. It is truly a Union of minorities who have found common cause in the quest for permanent peace and prosperity in a turbulent world.
Despite growing by one fifth geographically and in population virtually overnight, the Union neither should nor can withdraw into smug satisfaction at its achievement. There are other candidates whose aspirations must be given due consideration. Since negotiations with 10 new members were completed, the Commission has recommended opening negotiations with Croatia. Negotiations are already under way with Bulgaria and Romania, and a decision on opening negotiations with Turkey is due to be taken before the end of this year.
The Union must also assume its responsibilities towards the other neighbouring countries with which, from today, we will share a common land border more than 5 000 kilometres long -- almost four times as long as our eastern border was yesterday. This has brought a new dimension to our strategic thinking.
In order to meet this challenge, the Commission I lead has proposed a Wider Europe policy, and I am happy to say it has received strong support from the Member States. The goal is to create a ring of friends with whom we share common concerns, both political and economic, and thereby help to prevent new dividing lines being drawn across Europe.
In a sense, this is another concept of enlargement -- an enlargement without institutions.
Perhaps the most serious concern we can currently address together is the need to combat terrorism, the evil spectre that haunts all of us who strive for peace. No country, not even a Union of the size and sophistication we have been fortunate to achieve, can stand alone against this sinister phenomenon.
There are two further challenges which the new Europe must meet in a spirit of solidarity. These are the interlinked issues of how best to manage economic globalisation and, in an increasingly multipolar world, how best to ensure systems of political governance that are both efficient and equitable.
In both cases, size matters. The enlarged Union, which is soundly based on democratic values, economic openness and a strong social model, can, in an increasingly complex world, achieve far more than individual countries could ever hope to achieve separately.
This does not mean that Europeans have any ambition to impose their will on others. But nor do they wish to see the world evolve in a way that is inimical to our core principles of partnership and fairness for all.
Lastly, I want to express my deep thanks and appreciation to the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, for inviting me -- and indeed all of us -- to his native city Dublin to welcome our new Member States into the Union. I wish him well during the remainder of the Irish Presidency and especially in his endeavours to bring the negotiations for a new Treaty to a successful conclusion.