On 16 April 2003, in Athens, representatives from the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia sign the Treaty concerning the accession of these countries to the European Union.

Le 16 avril 2003, le Conseil européen informel d'Athènes adopte une Déclaration dans laquelle les Quinze saluent le cinquième élargissement de l'Union européenne comme un événement historique et rappellent les missions de l'Union.

On 16 April 2003, at the Informal European Council in Athens, the Austrian Chancellor, Wolfgang Schüssel, refers to the historic scope of the Treaty of Accession of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs) to the European Union.

On 16 April 2003, following the vote in the European Parliament to approve a resolution in favour of the enlargement of the European Union, Pat Cox, President of the European Parliament, emphasises to the Informal European Council in Athens the importance of the Community method in tackling the economic and political challenges of this enlargement.

On 16 April 2003, at the Athens Summit, Jacques Chirac, President of the French Republic, emphasises the historic importance of the new enlargement of the European Union.

Group photo taken at the signing ceremony of the Treaty of Accession of the ten new Member States to the European Union held on 16 April 2003 in Athens.

On 16 April 2003, in Athens, the President of Estonia, Arnold Rüütel, and his Foreign Minister, Kristiina Ojuland, sign the Treaty of Accession of Estonia to the European Union.

On 16 April 2003, at a reception held at the German Foreign Ministry, Klaus Scharioth, German State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, emphasises the historic nature of the signing, in Athens, of the Treaty of Accession of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia to the European Union.

On 17 April 2003, the French daily newspaper Le Monde summarises the most important addresses given at the ceremony held to mark the signing, the previous day in Athens, of the Treaty of Accession to the European Union of 10 new states.

On 17 April 2003, the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung describes the atmosphere surrounding the official ceremony held the previous day, in Athens, to mark the signing of the Treaty of Accession to the European Union by Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

On 17 April 2003, the French daily newspaper Libération emphasises the special political and economic nature of the fifth enlargement of the European Union to include Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

On 17 April 2003, the Madrid-based daily newspaper El País reports on the political and institutional challenges surrounding the enlargement of the European Union to 25 Member States.

On 30 April 2004, the leader in the daily newspaper Luxemburger Wort welcomes the historic enlargement of the European Union to encompass 25 Member States and retraces the steps accomplished by the ten new Member States along the road to accession.

‘Easy to digest?’ In April 2003, the German cartoonist Mohr portrays the complicated nature of the European Union’s future enlargement and comments ironically on the advice given by Günter Verheugen, European Commissioner for Enlargement, who warmly advises the new Member States ‘to study the small print carefully’ in the Accession Treaty.

Table showing the results of the ratification process of the Treaty of Accession in the 15 Member States of the European Union and the 10 applicant countries.

On 27 May 2003, on the eve of the referendum held in Poland on the country’s accession to the European Union, Günter Verheugen, European Commissioner with special responsibility for Enlargement, emphasises the historic impact of the decision put to the Polish people.

On 30 May 2003, during an official visit to Poland, Tony Blair, British Prime Minister, emphasises the importance of the country’s accession to the European Union and compares the situations of the United Kingdom and Poland.

On 30 May 2003, at a joint press conference held by Leszek Miller and Tony Blair, the Polish Prime Minister expresses his support for an intergovernmental Europe and declares his opposition to the federalist approach to European integration.

On 25 November 2003, as the bill authorising the ratification of the Treaty of Athens is scrutinised in the French National Assembly, the French Prime Minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, emphasises the historic nature of the enlargement of the European Union to include the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs).

On 3 December 2003, as the Treaty of Accession of the 10 new Member States to the European Union (EU) is ratified in the National Council in Vienna, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Austrian Foreign Minister, outlines the various implications of the fifth enlargement for the EU and for her country.

On 4 December 2003, Louis Michel, Belgian Foreign Minister, delivers an address to the Chamber of Representatives in Brussels in which he emphasises the implications of the ratification of the Treaty of Accession and of the enlargement of the European Union.

Map showing the separation of the Turkish and Greek populations in Cyprus in 1960 and the situation on the island following the Turkish military intervention of 1974.

On 6 September 1974, members of the Canadian contingent of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) patrol the demarcation line (‘Green Line’) in Nicosia in Lynx armoured vehicles.

On 21 November 1974, soldiers from the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) evacuate over a thousand Greek Cypriot civilians from the villages of Gypsos and Vone, in Famagusta District, at the east of the island, before they come under the control of the Turkish military forces.

The mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), in operation since 27 March 1964, was widened and extended following the events of 1974. The photo shows a Danish UN peacekeeper monitoring the 180-km-long demarcation line that divides the island into two distinct republics separating the Greek Cypriots from the Turkish Cypriots. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus lies to the north of this buffer zone, and the Republic of Cyprus to the south.

On 19 January 2002, commenting on the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union, the French daily newspaper Le Monde speculates on the future of relations between Turkey and Greece and on the division of the island.

On 22 January 2004, Denis MacShane, British Minister of State for Europe, delivers an address to the National Federation of Cypriots in London in which he emphasises the need for a rapid solution to the Cypriot crisis.

On 10 February 2004, negotiations between the two Cypriot communities, on the basis of the plan for a political settlement devised by the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, are officially opened at the seat of the United Nations in New York. From left to right: Rauf Denktash (Turkish Cypriot leader), Kofi Annan and Tassos Papadopoulos (President of the Republic of Cyprus).

On 19 February 2004, on an official visit to Nicosia, Alvaro de Soto (on the left), United Nations Special Adviser on Cyprus, discusses the settlement of the Cyprus crisis with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos (on the right).

On 19 February 2004, under the auspices of the United Nations, negotiations between the delegations of the two Cypriot communities resume in Nicosia. The photo shows Rauf Denktas, Turkish Cypriot leader, at the left-hand table, and Tassos Papadopoulos, President of the Republic of Cyprus, at the right-hand table.

On 31 March 2004, at the end of the Cyprus talks, Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General, outlines the implications of his plan for a peaceful settlement of the Cyprus issue.

On 31 March 2004, Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General, presents his plan for the reunification of the island of Cyprus. A ‘revised and amended’ version of the plan is put to the island’s Greek and Turkish communities in a referendum on 24 April 2004.

On 7 April 2004, with a view to the referendum due to be held in Cyprus on the unification of the island, the European Commission proposes an Act of Adaptation of the terms of accession of a reunified Cyprus to the European Union.

On 15 April 2004, in the run-up to the referendum due to be held in Cyprus on the reunification of the island, Günter Verheugen, European Commissioner for Enlargement, delivers an address in Brussels in which he emphasises the importance of the plan proposed by the United Nations for the unification of Cyprus.

On 21 April 2004, in the run-up to the referendum due to be held in Cyprus on the unification of the island, Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General, reassures the Cypriot people that the world is ready to help them to achieve unification in security.

On 21 April 2004, shortly before the referendum on the unification of the island of Cyprus, the European Parliament holds a debate on the Peace Plan proposed by Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General.

On 21 April 2004, on the eve of the referendum in Cyprus on the unification of the island, the European Parliament adopts a resolution on the plan proposed by Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General, and on the prospects for the unification of Cyprus.

On 23 April 2004, in the Brussels daily newspaper La Libre Belgique, François Roelants du Vivier, Vice-Chairman of the Committee on External Relations and Defence of the Belgian Senate and, in this capacity, rapporteur on the situation in Cyprus, publishes an article in which he calls on the Greek and Turkish Cypriots to accept the Peace Plan drawn up by Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General.

On 24 April 2004, in the light of the negative outcome of the referendum on the reunification of the island of Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus, delivers an address in Nicosia in which he notes the outcome of the vote and reaffirms his wish for a settlement to the Cypriot problem.

On 24 April 2004, Greek Cypriot citizens opposed to the reunification of Cyprus as proposed in the United Nations peace plan demonstrate in Eleftheria Square in Nicosia following the announcement of the ‘No’ vote in the referendum on the reunification of the island held the same day.

On 24 April 2004, the same day as the Cypriot referendum on the plan for national reunification proposed by the United Nations, Greek Cypriots try to secure a visa which will allow them to enter the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

On 26 April 2004, the Council of the European Union notes the decision of the Greek Cypriot people to reject the plan for unification of the island proposed by the United Nations.

On 26 April 2004, the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung analyses the consequences of the rejection by the Greek Cypriots, two days earlier, of the plan for the unification of Cyprus drawn up by the United Nations.

On 26 April 2004, the Bavarian daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung comments on the outcome of the Cypriot referendum on the United Nations plan for the reunification of the island.

On 27 April 2004, the French daily newspaper Le Monde focuses on the reasons for the rejection by the Greek Cypriots of the plan for the reunification of the island proposed by the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan.

‘Cyprus sets up home in Europe.’ On 28 April 2004, after the rejection by Greek Cypriots of the United Nations plan for the unification of Cyprus, German cartoonist Sakurai takes an ironic look at the prospects of seeing a united island of Cyprus within the European Union.

On 29 April 2004, the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit comments on the rejection by the Greek Cypriots of the plan for the reunification of the island drawn up by the United Nations.

‘A chance for Europe.’ In the light of Cyprus’ forthcoming accession to the European Union, the cartoonist, Fritz Behrendt, considers the future of Turkish-Greek relations and speculates over the division of the island.