Ireland to host EU expansion party

Huge celebrations are being planned to mark the enlargement of the EU, it was revealed today.

When the 10 new member states officially join on May 1 – during Ireland’s EU presidency – European Minister Dick Roche is planning a nationwide party for the Irish people.

“We want to have the celebration out there on the streets, we want to have the people of Dublin, the people of Ireland, share the sense of history we will be creating in Europe,” he said.

“This should be a celebration for the people, not for the men in suits.

“It is potentially a very exciting and a very symbolic time. Dublin will be reaching out to the eastern borders of Poland and the dream will actually come true.”

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has invited the heads of state from all members of the European Council to attend an event in Dublin on May 1.

But Mr Roche emphasised that it would just be a small ceremony – with the real celebrations taking place throughout Ireland.

He also revealed plans to create 10 ’twin towns’ in the Republic – one for each new EU member state.

Speaking about his preparations for the presidency, which Ireland will take over from Italy on January 1, the minister said he was keen for the general public to play a part in the process.

“The biggest challenge is to build a single bridge between the EU and the citizens of Europe,” he said.

“There has been a growing gap, a sense of apathy and disconnection and a lot of that is to do with jargon that people outside politics don’t understand and have no reason to know.

“Europe must speak to its citizens in plain, unadorned language so the people can see what Europe is all about.”

He announced plans for an EU conference, to be held in April, aimed specifically at engaging the general public on European affairs.

Mr Roche said details for the presidency are now being finalised.

Priorities include strengthening EU/UN relations following the Iraq war and building upon EU/US relations.

The Government is planning a potentially controversial EU/US summit in Ireland towards the end of its presidency and is expecting George W Bush to attend.

Asked about security concerns in light of the US leader’s recent visit to England, Mr Roche said the country had a responsibility to fulfil its role as EU host.

“Even if we had disruption for one day, if there’s an opportunity for us to bring some peace to the world, to fulfil our responsibility as the lead state of Europe, we should seize the day,” he said.

“We should bring the world to our doorstep.”

“Our presidency is now just over four weeks away and we have refined our priorities and are working on specific elements of the programme,” he said.

“But our first priority is enlargement and we want to celebrate the enlargement.

“When it comes to a bit of craic and a celebration, Ireland is very good at that.”

The 10 countries set to become EU member states in May 2004 are: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic.