Emotions flow as EU welcomes 10 new members

By CATHERINE FIELD

PARIS - Nearly six decades after it was divided by the Cold War, Europe reunited yesterday as the leaders of the new 25-nation European Union declared that the blood of war would never again stain their soil nor their continent be divided by fences and walls.

Ceremonies, many of them bathed in tearful feelings of fraternity and nightmare memories of Europe's 20th-century history, unfolded across European cities to welcome 10 new members to the EU.

The newcomers are Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

As of May 1, they became members of the world's biggest trade bloc, a behemoth with free movement of goods, services, people and capital among 450 million citizens, and the globe's largest economy.

Seven of the 10 countries suffered political tyranny and grinding poverty under decades of Soviet dictatorship, the result of the 1945 deal in Yalta which drew a line down Europe that later turned into a jagged fence of steel, concrete and barbed wire.

The EU faces daunting challenges to get the newcomers' economic standards up to those of Western Europe, a process that, if the former East Germany is any guide, will take one or even two decades.

And it must reassure the 15 old members that their own prosperity will not be at threat, haemorrhaged by an exodus of jobs to the East.

It must also establish a "European identity" that can be embraced by all, from the Atlantic to the Russian border, a goal that will be viewed suspiciously in countries that have only just recovered their sovereignty.

But those worries were shunted to one side on Enlargement Day. Ireland, the current EU president, unleashed a massive fireworks display and hosted a prayer ceremony, concert and flag-hoisting commemoration to celebrate the great event.

Thousands flocked to an "E-Day" fair featuring attractions from around the new Europe, ranging from Estonian chamber music, an 18th-century Viennese coffee house to British reggae and a mock Cypriot beach party with a sand sculpture of Aphrodite.

"Five decades after our great project of European integration began, the divisions of the Cold War are gone once and for all and we live in a united Europe," declared European Commission President Romano Prodi in Dublin Castle.

"To the people of Europe who are joining us today in the European Union, I extend the hand of friendship," said Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, head of the paramount EU decision-making body, the European Council.

"It was your democratic choice and your own efforts that made this day happen. Today marks the triumph of your determination and perseverance over the legacy of history. For Europe, today marks the closure of one chapter and the opening of another new and exciting chapter in its long history."

"I have tears in my eyes," said French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

"I am part of a generation that believes in Europe. Europe is the force that prevents hate from being eternal. We must now open our hearts to this new Europe."

Estonia's Prime Minister, Juan Parts, voiced the feelings of many in the Baltic states whose history has been darkened by Communism and their unstable Russian neighbour: "We are returning to where we belong, to a community that shares the same values and visions."

Other ceremonies were held at sites that were poignant symbols of the old, divided Europe, and in capitals of the accession countries, fireworks and officially staged street parties marked the big day.

In Sopron, Hungary, Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy and Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel cut down a section of fence that had been part of the Iron Curtain on their border.

"In the future, no gate, no fence should be allowed to separate our people," said Medgyessy.

In the border town of Zittau, eastern Germany, the leaders of wartime foes Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic jointly hoisted the EU flag of 12 gold stars on a blue background.

"Who would have thought 60 years ago that there would be a day like this, a day on which Europe is united and we have a chance to make Europe a place of lasting peace and prosperity?" said German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

"The message is there will never again be war in Europe," his predecessor, Helmut Kohl, one of the fathers of European reunification said, his voice cracking with emotion.

"I fought for our country to recover everything it lost under Communism and the Soviets and now my struggle is over. My ship has come to port," said former Polish President and Solidarity trade union leader Lech Walesa.

Not everything was upbeat. Several hundred anti-capitalist protesters clashed with Dublin police, and the Czech Republic's President, Vaclav Klaus, who is a eurosceptic, sounded a sour note.

"As from midnight today, the Czech Republic will no longer exist as an independent state entity and it will become part of the EU," said Klaus.

"Today we are gaining something, but also at the same time losing something."

PRICE OF PROGRESS

A majestic Irish oak tree has paid the ultimate price for EU enlargement.

A pair of the 350-year-old hardwood trees used to stand 200m from Farmleigh state guest house in Dublin, where leaders of the now 25-nation European Union feted enlargement yesterday with a champagne dinner.

But that was until last week, when one of the oaks was felled so that live TV images from the dinner could be beamed clearly to a nearby press centre.

Farmleigh, once the home of the Guinness family, makers of the eponymous Irish stout, is situated inside Phoenix Park, Europe's biggest enclosed green space, in northwest Dublin.