More than 150 MPs from the 10 countries that are about to join the European Union were welcomed today by the European Parliament.
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia do not become EU members until May 2004, but they will be fielding candidates in the European Parliament elections a month later.
So this week parliamentarians from all 10 nations have been sent to Strasbourg to get a taste of things to come. Each visitor was assigned a "monitor" from among the current Euro-MPs to show them round and check the facilities.
Commission President Mr Romano Prodi.told the visitors: "The atmosphere today is like the first day at school. I bid the members of parliament from the candidate countries welcome to what will become the home of all Europeans. Your presence signals the opening of a new chapter for Europe".
Expanded interpretation requirements - 23 languages will be in use in a 25-nation EU - were also tested.
But the key aim was to horse-trade in the corridors of power with the current political parties in a multinational parliament that throws up unusual cross-border alliances.
The current European Parliament building was designed with enlargement in mind and can cope with the increase from the current 626 MEPs to up to 732 after the 2004 election.