EU’s ‘Big Bang’ enlargement: Where we are 20 years later

A Polish mountaineer (L) and a Slovak man (R) jointly saw a barrier into pieces at the Polish-Slovakian border crossing in Lysa Polana on 1 May 2004.

Good morning from Brussels,

This week (1 May), the EU commemorates 20 years since the last large round of enlargement when ten countries – Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia – joined the bloc.

The EU’s ‘Big Bang’ enlargement was considered a great geopolitical shift for itself and the newcomers.

Euractiv’s newsroom put together data illustrating how the “new” EU members progressed in several fields, from the economy to press freedom and corruption.

Despite the overall positive impact, the future enlargement divides “old” and “new” EU members.

Alexandra Brzozowski has the full story.

Speaking to Euractiv on the sidelines of the two-day convention of German liberal coalition party FDP in Berlin, the lead candidate for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann questioned voting for a second term of von der Leyen. Jonathan Packroff has the story.

Meanwhile, the European Parliament is pulling on historical heartstrings to increase voter turnout in June’s European elections, with the launch of its campaign on Monday, which takes a look back at citizens’ experiences with war and dictatorships.

BERLIN

Germany’s liberal coalition party FDP accused Christian Democrat (CDU) opponents of “hiding” their lead candidate for the European elections – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen – due to her faltering policy performance. Read more.

German AfD wants to dismantle EU, turn into confederation of nations. The German far-right AfD wants to dismantle the EU in its current form and transform it into a confederation of nation-states with limited power, the party stated during its EU election kick-off on Saturday. Read more.

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PARIS

Macron is under fire for proposing an ‘open debate’ on nuclear deterrence. French politicians slammed President Emmanuel Macron for proposing an open debate on a common European defence and defending the continent with nuclear weapons. Read more.

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BRUSSELS

Pfizergate: Belgian court to hold hearing amid competence row with EU prosecutor. A Belgian court will hold a hearing on 17 May where it will be decided whether Belgian or EU prosecutors are competent to continue the ‘Pfizergate’ probe involving European Commission boss Ursula von der Leyen, according to a document seen by Euractiv. Read more.

TALLINN

Bolt lobbying revelations: Estonia official says human error behind missing correspondence. The omission of emails from the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs to Bolt and other mobility tech firms, demanded in a freedom of information (FOI) request, was due to human error, the Ministry’s Deputy Secretary General Sandra Särav told Estonian news agency ERR. Read more.

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RIGA

Latvians asked to turn basements into air-raid shelters. Authorities in Latvia called on residents to use Saturday’s annual “Big Clean-up Day” to turn basements into air-raid shelters, with many in the Baltic country concerned they could be Russia’s next target. Read more.

MADRID

Supporters and members of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s party have called on him not to resign as he is expected to announce his decision on Monday, while rumours of him eyeing the role of European Council President continue to simmer. Read more.
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ROME

Meloni to run in EU elections, wants to ‘send left into opposition’. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced on Sunda that she will be running in the European elections as the only candidate for her party Fratelli d’Italia, hoping that her candidacy will help the right wing in the European Parliament and relegate the left into opposition. Read more.

Italy summons Russian envoy over Ariston subsidiary takeover. Italy on Saturday summoned Russia’s ambassador after Moscow announced it was putting a subsidiary of Italian heating firm Ariston Thermo Group under the “temporary management” of state energy giant Gazprom. Read more.

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LISBON

Previous government ‘wasted’ recovery plan, says Portuguese agriculture minister. The previous government of Portugal “wasted the opportunity” to use all the funds available to the country under the recovery plan, Portuguese Agriculture Minister José Manuel Fernandes said on Sunday, warning against what he called ‘green radicalism’ against farmers. Read more.

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ATHENS

Greece’s Mitsotakis insists has no interest in EU job after June elections. Greek conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (EPP) has once again ruled out any scenario of seeking an EU top job after the European elections in June, saying his only objective is to lead his country. Read more.

WARSAW

Poland’s PiS proposes ex-Tusk ally-turned-rival for EU commissioner. Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of the conservative PiS, has nominated Jacek Saryusz-Wolski – a long-serving MEP and rival to now-Prime Minister Donald Tusk for the European Council spot in 2017 – as the party’s candidate for EU commissioner, even though the party has lost its right to nominate commissioners since it is now in opposition. Read more.

SOFIA

Bulgarian state-owned gas company makes big losses due to contract with Turkey. Bulgarian state-owned gas company Bulgargaz, a major player in the region’s gas market, is accumulating large losses due to an agreement with Turkish state-owned gas company BOTASH. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Transgaz’s director urges Romanian and Turkish companies to focus on Africa. Romanian companies should explore global opportunities, especially in Africa, where cooperation with Turkish companies could be fruitful, according to Ion Sterian, General Director of Transgaz, Romania’s national gas transport company. Read more.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Liene Lūsīte, Alice Taylor]