On 13 June 1995, the French daily newspaper Le Monde considers the reasons behind the fears provoked by each successive enlargement of the European Communities and, subsequently, of the European Union.

On 28 November 2002, Philippe Raynaud, Professor of Political Science at Panthéon-Assas University, Paris, throws light on the debate on Turkey’s possible accession to the European Union and on the borders in Europe by identifying three potentially conflicting concepts of Europe and calls for the development of a new form of cooperation between the EU and Turkey.

On 24 March 2004, on the eve of the Brussels European Council, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Austrian Foreign Minister, emphasises the importance for Austria of Croatia’s accession to the European Union (EU) and considers future relations between the EU and its neighbouring countries.

Interview with Günter Verheugen, European Commissioner for Enlargement since September 1999.

On 30 April 2004, during an interview granted to the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir, the historian Bronislaw Geremek, former Polish Foreign Minister, analyses the implications of and challenges inherent in the fifth enlargement of the European Union and declares his opposition to an unending expansion of the organisation.

On 30 June 2004, the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung publishes an article by Armin Laschet, German Member of the European Parliament (Christian Democratic Union — CDU), who speculates about the enlargement of the European Union to include Turkey or Ukraine and would like the Europeans to be consulted by referendum on each future enlargement.

On 30 October 2004, the French daily newspaper Le Monde speculates on the implications of the future enlargements of the European Union, focusing, in particular, on the case of Ukraine.

On 16 and 17 December 2004, in a Declaration annexed to the conclusions of the Brussels European Council, the Heads of State or Government of the Twenty-Five give their views on the political situation in Ukraine.

On 17 December 2004, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro warns the countries of the European Union against the temptation of enlargement of the European Union to include the countries in the Balkans.

In 2004, the cartoonist, Behrendt, speculates on the geographical limits of the European Union and on the limits of its forthcoming enlargements.

In this interview on 10 April 2005, Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, gives his views on the implications of the possible opening of negotiations for Croatia’s accession to the European Union.

In this interview on 10 April 2005, Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, gives his views on the implications of the possible opening with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) of negotiations for that country’s accession to the European Union.

In this interview on 10 April 2005, Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, gives his views on the fears of the general public in Western Europe regarding the continuing enlargement of the European Union and on the repercussions that these fears might have on the results of the referenda for the ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, to be held in the spring and summer of 2005 in France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

On 9 May 2005, the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel reports on the apprehension of European citizens with regard to the future enlargements of the European Union and comments on the growing opposition to the policy pursued in this field by the European governments.

On 11 March 2003, the European Commission sets out the principles of the European Union’s new neighbourhood policy with Russia, with the Western New Independent States (WNIS) and with the Southern Mediterranean countries.

On 1 July 2003, the European Commission sets out in a communication the elements and the stages for the implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy.

On 27 October 2003, Günter Verheugen, European Commissioner for Enlargement, delivers an address at the Diplomatic Academy in Moscow in which he outlines the implications of the fifth enlargement of the European Union and the principles of its new Neighbourhood Policy.

On 19 March 2004, Günter Verheugen, European Commissioner for Enlargement, delivers an address in Bratislava in which he outlines the principles of the European Union’s Neighbourhood Policy.

On 17 and 18 June 2004, the Brussels European Council welcomes the Commission proposals on a European Neighbourhood Policy and on a strategic partnership between the European Union and the countries in the Mediterranean region.

On 12 May 2004, the European Commission presents a strategy paper which marks an important stage in the achievement of good neighbourly relations between the European Union and the countries of Eastern Europe and of the Mediterranean region.

On 20 June 2005, in the French daily newspaper Le Figaro, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, emphasises how important it is for Europe to expand its role on the international stage.

In this interview on 10 April 2005, Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, gives his views on the European Union Neighbourhood Policy and, in particular, on relations between the Twenty-Five and Russia.