A New Europe is Born

Two days of high pressure bargaining and dealing in Copenhagen have culminated in the European Union agreeing on an historic decision to expand eastwards and welcome ten new member, stretching the EU deep into ex-Soviet territory and pushing its boundaries closer to the Middle East.

At points during the discussions in the Danish capital, it looked like there would be no groundbreaking moves with divisions setting members at odds.

The sticking points included the financial packages expected by the poorer newcomers, the question over future talks on Turkey's accession and the spilt membership problems of Cyprus. Failure to reach a compromised on these subjects threatened to put the brakes on expansion.

EU invites the ten new members to join in May 2004

But in the late hours of Friday night, to relieved and welcome celebration, a funding deal was finally struck and the 15-nation EU invited Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia to join the Western members of the club in May 2004.

The breakthrough came after Germany, the EU's traditional paymaster, said an extra one billion euro ($1.02bn) was on offer to appease the candidates despite the EU insisting for weeks that no more money would be forthcoming. Other nations also dug deep to grease the wheels of expansion.

"It is a great day for Europe and also for Germany, because one doesn't go without the other," German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told a press conference, while warning that the EU's expansion should not lead to its dilution.

European Commission President Romano Prodi addressing the press said: "For the first time in history, Europe will become one because unification is the free will of its people". Europe's people still have their say as to whether unification goes ahead in every country. The candidate countries still face referendums at home and it is thought that this may prove a troublesome task in some states, especially Poland.

Poland's position prompts cash injection and seals deal

Poland, the biggest of the 10 candidates and heavily dependent on agriculture, finally came on board after its demands for better terms sent the two-day summit into overtime. Its plea that Polish farmers would face ruin without larger subsidies was appeased by half of the two billion euro that Poland had asked for.

A referendum in Poland may prove to be a difficult proposition for its pro-Europe government. Poland's leaders had to fight tooth and nail for a better deal for its millions of farmers but the people may demand more than the compromise offered and threaten to derail Poland's accession if they don't get it.

But with everyone expected on board, Europe's leaders had every right to feel happy with their work.

EU honors the fall of the Berlin Wall - Rasmussen

"In 1989, brave and visionary people tore down the Berlin Wall. They would no longer tolerate the forced division of Europe. Today we have delivered on their hopes," said Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, to the press.

"We decided to heal our continent. We decided to create one Europe. Welcome to our new family. Our new Europe is born."

It will be a considerably larger Europe. The EU's population will rise by 75 million people after enlargement to more than 450 million - eclipsing the North American Free Trade Area as the world's biggest economic zone.

Turkey the unhappy guests as talks scheduled for 2004

However, amid the initial congratulations, there were still some unhappy faces. Turkey grudgingly accepted an agreed delay to its own long-running membership drive with the EU pencilling in a date for accession talks for December 2004. Turkey did agree to allow NATO and the EU to forge a long-awaited military pact that will allow the Union to launch its first-ever peacekeeping operations.

The decision to delay Turkey's accession is a move that is unsatisfactory to the United States government, who were hoping Turkey's rapid inclusion would help shore up allies around the troubled Middle East. The decision, backed strongly by France and Germany, also put Britain in an awkward position and went against the pro-American ideas of the Spanish and Italian governments. But the leaders confirmed that the EU's enlargement process was "irreversible" and would eventually take in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.

We will determine our own borders - Prodi

"Our work is not yet finished," Romano Prodi said in what could be construed as a disguised rebuff to the United States for its strident support for Turkey's EU bid.

"Where the borders of Europe lie is something the Europeans must discuss and decide for themselves. We must not accept that the borders of the Union be imposed on us from outside," he said.

The image of European unity was not 100 percent achieved due to the failure of last-ditch UN-brokered talks in Copenhagen to end the 28-year division of Cyprus. Both the Greek and Turkish Cypriots were unable to bridge their differences and so the EU had no choice but to keep its promise to invite the internationally recognized Greek-Cypriot government alone.

Deal aims to eradicate war in Europe and heal divisions

But the majority of the celebrations were well deserved. The EU is now on a path to a five-decade drive towards "ever closer union" which began with a coal and steel community agreement back in 1951. This latest step is seen as a concerted effort to bind Europe so close it can never go to war again and end the lingering Cold War divisions.

In a final message of hope for the newly enlarged Union, Danish premier Fogh Rasmussen said, "Today we have closed one of the bloodiest and darkest chapters in European history. Today we have opened a new chapter." With unwritten pages awaiting the ink of future European discussions, this is far from the end of the EU saga.