20 years since Big Bang enlargement

Chisinau, May 1 /MOLDPRES/- Today 1 May we mark the 20th anniversary of the European Union's biggest wave of enlargement, known as the Big Bang enlargement, when ten countries joined the EU. On this occasion, Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Cristina Gherasimov conveyed a message saying that the enlargement of 1 May 2004 is also important for us in Moldova because of the model of unity shown by the ten countries, and we understood that the European dream is possible.

"Today we mark 20 years since the Czech Republic, Cyprus and Estonia, Malta, Latvia and Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary became part of the great European family. Two decades in which they established themselves as consolidated democracies and strong economies. Let's celebrate the next anniversary together, with Moldova as an EU member state", said Cristina Gherasimov.

"I know, we have work to do to make this goal a reality and to narrow the gap between us, building on the experience and lessons learned by these countries in their accession process. The work does not scare us because it is an effort that will change our present and future as it has changed the present and future of these countries. It is the path we all want, the path we need to stay united, to defend democracy and to build European Moldova," the official added.

As a result of the enlargement on 1 May 2004, the number of EU Member States increased from 15 to 25, the number of official languages used in the EU - from 11 to 21, while the population of the EU bloc increased by 75 million.

According to a study by the Polish Economic Institute, real GDP per capita at purchasing power parity (PPP) in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia (Central Europe) increased by 27% more than it would have been in a scenario where these countries had not joined the EU and developed independently.

The statistics also show that quality of life indices, school enrolment, per capita income and living standards have also increased significantly. All this is estimated to be due to the benefits of the absorption of EU funds and access to the EU Single Market, which has created new business opportunities, led to considerable capital flows to the new Member States and facilitated their integration into global supply chains. 

Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union on 1 January 2007, and Croatia - in 2013, benefiting equally from accessibility to the Single Market, technical and financial assistance to implement structural reforms.

Currently, the Republic of Moldova is one of the nine countries with candidate status for accession to the European Union and after the positive opinion of the European Council in December 2023 is preparing for the opening of accession negotiations.

This March, the European Commission transmitted the draft negotiating framework to the European Council and published the communication on reforms and policy review before enlargement. According to the document, candidate countries will be able to enjoy certain advantages similar to those of EU member states in some sectors even before accession.