On 12 December 2002, commenting on the Copenhagen European Council, the French weekly news magazine L’Express speculates on the political and institutional repercussions of the future enlargement of the European Union.

The Copenhagen European Council, meeting on 12 and 13 December 2002, concludes negotiations with 10 applicant countries and fixes the date for the accession of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia at 1 May 2004.

At the Copenhagen European Council held on 12 and 13 December 2002, the Heads of State or Government of the Fifteen listen to Valéry Giscard d’Estaing’s report on the progress of the work carried out by the European Convention before focusing, in particular, on the enlargement of the European Union and the common foreign and security policy (CFSP).

On 13 December 2002, commenting on the conclusions of the Copenhagen European Council, the French daily newspaper Le Monde considers the new challenges facing the enlarged European Union.

On 13 December 2002, commenting on the conclusions of the Copenhagen European Council, the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir profiles an enlarged European Union consisting of 25 Member States.

On the day after the Copenhagen European Council meeting of 12 and 13 December 2002, the British daily newspaper The Guardian reacts to the conclusions of the Council Presidency concerning the enlargement of the Union to encompass ten new Member States and devotes special attention to the issue of Turkey’s application.

On 16 December 2002, Noëlle Lenoir, French Minister Delegate for European Affairs, comments on the decisions taken at the Copenhagen European Council concerning the enlargement of the European Union.

On 16 December 2002, on the margins of the Copenhagen European Council, Tony Blair, British Prime Minister, holds a press conference in which he emphasises the historic significance of the decisions adopted by the Fifteen concerning the enlargement of the European Union.

On 18 December 2002, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Danish Prime Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, outlines to the European Parliament the nature of the decisions adopted at the end of the Copenhagen European Council, with particular regard to the enlargement of the European Union.

‘Welcome to the club.’ Following the Copenhagen European Council held on 12 and 13 December 2002, the German cartoonist, Walter Hanel, takes an ironic look at the condition of the ‘European house’ in the light of the forthcoming enlargement of the European Union to include 10 new Member States.