EU Summit in Denmark - 2002-12-12

Fifteen member countries of the European Union officially invited ten other countries to join the organization in 2004. The aim of this action is to renew unity in a continent that has been divided and separated after two world wars and decades of the Cold War. On Friday, at the end of a two-day summit of EU leaders held in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, invitations were extended to eight former communist countries and two Mediterranean countries to officially join the Union. This expansion, set to take place in May 2004, is considered the largest action of the organization in its forty-five years of history. With this accession, the population of the European Union will increase by seventy-five million, reaching 450 million, creating the largest economic region in the world. EU leaders at their meeting in Denmark, while discussing the final conditions and financial costs of membership for the ten new countries, are also determined to find solutions for issues related to Cyprus and Turkey. The leaders are examining a $40 billion aid package for the ten countries that are set to join the EU in 2004. They are also considering a resolution that could end the twenty-eight-year division of Cyprus based on a United Nations plan. Meanwhile, Abdullah Gul, the Prime Minister of Turkey, has angrily criticized the EU leaders' decision to delay negotiations for Turkey's membership. The membership of Poland and Cyprus from these ten countries in 2004 has already become controversial. A spokesperson for the Polish government expressed satisfaction with the EU's decision to increase aid to farmers among the new members but expects the amount of this aid to be increased. The Prime Minister of Denmark, who holds the rotating presidency of the EU, has advised applicant countries to refrain from insisting on unjustifiable and impractical requests. Meanwhile, mediators intend to bring the resolution of disputes related to Cyprus to the EU leaders' summit. The EU has asked the ten applicant countries to agree to the latest proposal regarding the Union's aid to them to realize the historic decision of the Union's expansion. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Prime Minister of Denmark, made this request today on the eve of the two-day summit of EU leaders that began in Copenhagen. It is expected that official membership invitations will be issued for the applicant countries at this summit. The Prime Minister of Denmark's reference was to requests made by some applicants, including Poland, for increased aid to farmers among the new members. The Prime Minister of Denmark had previously advised applicants not to present requests that are not reasonable and practical.