European Council in Copenhagen, 12-13/12/2002

The European Council in Copenhagen, whose motto was “One Europe”, will remain in the history of European construction. Indeed, the Heads of State and Government of the EU countries and the ten candidate countries reached an agreement on the enlargement formula that allows the accession to the EU, from May 1, 2004, of the ten new members, namely Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. Romania and Bulgaria received a 20% increase in pre-accession assistance and detailed “road maps” to meet the 2007 accession date. Finally, among others, Turkey will also receive increased assistance for its preparation. A date was set in December 2004 to verify compliance with the preliminary conditions necessary for the start of negotiations.