News Release
A “GREATER UNION” FOR EUROPE
This op-ed was contributed by the Washington Ambassadors of the
present and
acceding members of the European Union, namely Austria, Belgium,
Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands,
Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom,
and of the European Commission Delegation.
In Athens today, April 16, 2003, Europe will celebrate its growing strength and
unity as 10 countries
sign the
Treaty of Accession to the European Union.
After ratification of the treaty, the 10 new members will join the existing fifteen
on May 1st, 2004, to form a cohesive partnership in a 25-nation group comparable
in numbers and economic strength to the United States of America.
With the
enlargement of the EU, we greet the arrival
of a new political order which marks the end of the division of Europe into two
hostile blocs following World War II. Europe now, for the first time in modern
history, is a partnership sharing common values and a commitment to harmony and
cooperation. The dream of European integration, shared by the United States, is
now being realized, leaving behind us the wasteful era of wars, hostility and
inequalities. We are on the road to a Europe enjoying a unity and influence without
precedent in its long history.
The United States has a stake in a Europe whole, democratic and free. Like the
“greater union” designed by the American Constitution, the expansion of an integrated
Europe furthers the goal not only of freedom of movement, common standards of
social well-being and economic efficiency, but also of unity and greater political
responsibility. Europe has the additional task of pursuing this common agenda
while preserving the treasured cultures, languages and historical memories of
its diverse membership.
Today, our leaders assembled in Athens, which gave its democratic values to the
world, as an unprecedented community to greet those values. We look back on the
past and rejoice that the era when Europe was a battlefield, with two world wars
and civil strife, is now past. All of Europe – north, south, east and west – lived
through wars and hardship, with totalitarianism obliterating freedom, repression
choking democracy.
In the new century, abandoning the divisive and destructive legacies of the past,
we can build on previous positive achievements: common values, integration, economic
growth, social justice and collective security. To prove that we not only can
but will follow that path, the first years of this century have witnessed bold
decisions to strengthen the two main pillars of the European edifice: the European
Union and NATO.
The coming accession of ten new members will not end the EU’s further enlargement.
Three other countries – Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey – are engaged in the pre-accession
process, while other European states, notably in the
Balkans, are currently expanding their
links with the Union. The enlarged EU will continue to re-assess and develop
closer cooperation with its neighbors in
Eastern Europe and the
Mediterranean region as a matter of priority.
Indeed, an enlarged European Union will add its weight to the underlying strength
of
transatlantic relations. All member states
of the EU have strong traditional bonds with the United States, and America has
deep roots in Europe. We should take advantage of that affiliation and of the
opportunity to make the relationship between the EU and the US even stronger and
more influential. To do so, Europe will need to continue to develop its
common foreign and
defense policy and become, alongside the United
States, a force for global stability and progress in a mutually beneficial partnership.
The United States and the European Union are the backbone of the world economy.
We are each other’s first economic partner, main source and destination of foreign
investment and major foreign employers. EU enlargement will only strengthen this
partnership.
The EU and the US have a shared vision: of a European Union made bigger by enlargement;
better by its closeness to the concerns of Europe’s citizens; and stronger by
its pursuit of a more powerful international presence. It will be a Union which
plays a leading role in the promotion of global stability, cooperation, justice
and development. It will be strong and reliable in a transatlantic partnership
of common values and shared interests.
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Press Contacts:
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Willy Hélin
202-862-9530
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Anthony Gooch
202-862-9523
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Maeve O'Beirne
202-862-9549
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