By Pat Cox

Our special guest, former European Parliament President Pat Cox, remembers the big bang enlargement of 20 years ago as a time of outstanding hope when the continent finally drew a full breath on its two lungs: East and West. And while Putin’s myth of Slavic brotherhood is being delivered against the backdrop of blasts from ballistic missiles, the EU remains a voluntary union of free and sovereign people, based on the core values of respect for human rights, equality and the rule of law.

The event hosted in Dublin by the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU on 1 May 2004 and the welcome ceremony at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 3 May 2004 stand out for me politically but also emotionally as days of outstanding positivity and hope and as symbolic acts of homecoming, of reunification and of the continent drawing a full breath on its two lungs: East and West. In Dublin Seamus Heaney read his poem Beacons at Bealtaine, expressing the underlying optimism that this historic enlargement could ‘Move lips, move minds and make new meanings flare’. In Strasbourg the 10 national flags of the new Member States were raised on huge flagpoles made in the shipyards of Gdańsk, a gift from Poland, their journey to Strasbourg a symbolic reminder of the journey from communism to freedom, personified by the presence of Lech Wałęsa.

Of course, for everyone, the event was the culmination of a long and complex process of mutual preparation over many years. There was joy but also relief at reaching the finish line in what was a political and procedural marathon for all involved.

My contention is that enlargement has perhaps been the EU’s most powerful, transformative and successful policy tool over the past five decades. My own country, Ireland, joined in the first enlargement on 1 January 1973, the poorest state/region of the then European Economic Community. Access to a large market, together with EU solidarity through regional and later cohesion funds in the early decades of membership, higher standards on gender equality and environmental policy, support for the peace process in Northern Ireland and recognition of the uniquely challenging consequences for Ireland of Brexit, the only EU state sharing a land border with the UK, all combine to yield an especially positive experience and outcome. It was not all plain sailing, particularly during the euro area crisis, but in net terms it has been powerfully positive.

While I both respect and regret the UK’s decision to leave the Union, it proves one thing clearly: the EU is a voluntary Union of free and sovereign peoples – free to join, free to leave. What a powerful contrast to Putin’s neo-imperial war of choice against Ukraine, where his myth of Slavic brotherhood is being delivered from the barrels of guns, the blasts of ballistic missiles and deadly drones on a daily basis.

The accession of Greece, Portugal and Spain helped to underpin their re-emergence as successful democracies post-dictatorship in addition to bringing improvements in living standards and quality of life.

The big bang enlargement of 20 years ago brought spectacular growth to the new Member States, especially those of central and eastern Europe, through a surge in investment, trade and EU solidarity. On average, their GDP per capita, adjusted for inflation and currency, went from less than half of the EU average to three quarters of a growing EU average over the two decades. Lithuania’s GDP per capita trebled in this period. Health has improved, as has education, leading to progress in both quality of life and standard of living. Agricultural output across the region has doubled. In short, as with all previous enlargements, it has proven to be a win-win outcome for the acceding states and the EU alike. This makes me an enlargement optimist, but not a naive one.

Events in Poland in recent years and persistently in Hungary show how a slippage from EU standards in respect of the rule of law, media freedom or respect for minority rights reveals an adhesion to the EU as a vehicle for prosperity but an aversion to the EU as a community of shared values. The Prime Minister of Hungary proudly proclaims his to be an illiberal democracy. Whatever margin of interpretation one might have regarding Article 2 of the TEU, self-evidently it is not a charter for an illiberal democracy. (‘The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail.’)

This was part of the EU membership deal and is written into all accession treaties and was agreed to by all acceding states. The formula ‘keep your values but send your money’ is not a sustainable basis for mutual respect – something which should not be lost on current candidate states as they seek to navigate their eventual EU accession. I expect that the Copenhagen criteria will play a more fundamental role in future negotiations, possibly with accession treaty clauses that offer the EU a more robust capacity to defend rights and values from lapses. The EU is not just a market, and material progress, desirable though it is, is not its only or even its essential raison d’être.

That said, on the basis of the enlargement record so far, it has been essentially positive for all involved and should be approached in a positive frame of mind. The candidate states will have to undergo significant transformations, each at its own pace. The EU too has homework to do in terms of its decision-making process and budgetary capacity to absorb new member states, and in pre-accession assistance. After candidate state status has been granted and following screening, negotiation frameworks, chapter-by-chapter opening and closing of negotiations and eventual accession treaties all require Council unanimity. None of this is straightforward or easy. One hopes that all Member States will show respect for the duty of ‘sincere cooperation’ to assist in carrying out the tasks which flow from the Treaty (Article 4(3) TEU).

Ukraine is a case apart in terms of complexity because of its size, the relative share of agriculture to GDP compared to the EU average, and its comparative poverty in terms of GDP per capita, and of course because of the war and its devastating consequences. Negotiations can start. Ukraine is already on the road to integration through its Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the EU. These could be expanded progressively over time but ultimately a settled territorial outcome and stable peace – in which EU membership can play a role – will be an essential precondition to accession. The EU needs stability, not chaos, on its eastern flank and embracing Ukraine ultimately is in the collective as well as Ukraine’s interest.

Pat Cox, former President of the European Parliament from 2002 to 2004

Pat Cox is an Irish politician and journalist. He was the President of the European Parliament from 2002 to 2004, and President of the European Movement International (2005-2011). He has been at the helm of the Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe since 2015.  He is also a European Coordinator for the Scandinavian-Mediterranean TEN T (transport) Core Network Corridor (EU) and leader of the European Parliament’s Needs Assessment and Implementation Mission on Parliamentary Reform of the Verkhovna Rada in Ukraine. In his early career, he worked as a current affairs television broadcaster at RTE in Dublin. In 2004, Mr Cox won the 2004 International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen for his parliamentary commitment to the enlargement of the European Union.