[FR] Making Greater Europe an area of solidarity and cooperation

Making Greater Europe an area of solidarity and cooperation

As 2004 draws nearer, I am increasingly convinced that the success of enlargement to the east is the most important and exciting project facing the European Union over the next 15 years.

In saying this, I am fully aware of the lack of enthusiasm among the general public. The citizens of the Fifteen often fear that by welcoming 10 or 12 new members, the greater Europe will become a mere free trade area and will no longer be faithful to the vision we forged for the European Union at Maastricht. That vision was based, I would remind you, on a dynamic balance between competition, cooperation and solidarity. It is true that the Copenhagen criteria, like the focus of the European negotiators, have tended to push the governments of the candidate countries to concentrate their efforts on the transition to a market economy once democracy has been consolidated. Similar concerns can be felt in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs). With the goal in sight, a certain weariness is setting in, particularly among young people. They often ask us, ‘Are all these efforts, paid for dearly by growing social and regional inequalities, futile or insignificant in view of the road ahead? Will the European Union renege on its promises and suddenly become stingy when we join?’