01 May 2004	Saturday	10 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

DUBLIN, April 30: Europe ended its Cold War divisions on Friday midnight as ten mainly ex-communist nations joined the European Union in the bloc's biggest expansion in nearly fifty years.

The accession of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia transforms the once-exclusive club of 15 prosperous western European states into a more diverse group of 25 nations, many of which are still struggling to catch up with their more privileged EU counterparts.

The ten new states bring the EU population up to 450 million people, second only to China and India. The expansion, running in parallel with the enlargement of NATO, represents a historic reunification of a Europe divided by World War II.

The Soviet bloc was consigned to history 15 years ago when the Berlin Wall came crashing down. The ten countries started on the road to EU membership six years ago, negotiating with the bloc on an array of measures needed to bring their political and economic structures on a par with their western neighbours.

Festivities, street parties and fireworks were held through new and old Europe on Friday night, with EU leaders scheduled to gather in Dublin on Saturday for a "Day of Welcomes" for the newcomers.

Cyprus will not now be joining the EU as a unified island after Greek Cypriots last weekend rejected a UN settlement plan designed to end three decades of division with their Turkish rivals.

And Turkey's own bid to join the EU remains as contentious as ever, with French President Jacques Chirac arguing that it was not yet ready to launch accession talks. While hailing EU enlargement as a landmark moment, there is concern at the yawning economic disparity between East and West.

Nearly every existing member state has erected temporary barriers to stop a feared flood of low-skilled workers, although experts insist that such concerns are not justified.

COMMUNIST PAST: Countries joining the Union have worked hard to shed their communist past, embracing reform and rapidly upgrading their political and economic structures to match those of their more prosperous western neighbours.

EU states, meanwhile, have given their less advantaged eastern friends vast amounts of money and technical assistance to catch up with the west. But there is more to Europe's big-bang enlargement than meets the eye. Yes, the EU wants to extend democracy and the free market economy to the rest of Europe. But for many in the bloc, expansion is also about creating a bigger, better and more powerful EU.

Not surprisingly, therefore, Saturday's landmark enlargement will be followed by more. In 2007, the new Europe will also probably include Romania and Bulgaria, countries which are still negotiating entry into the Union.