L'élargissement de l'Union européenne à la suite du Conseil européen de Copenhague dedécembre 2002

The Copenhagen Council, in December 2002, opened the way to the fifth enlargement of Europe to 10 countries of which eight from Central and Eastern Europe. After the ratification of the adhesion Treaty in Athens in March 2003, and the ratification process, the Ten will become Members of the EU on 1 May, 2004. The first part of this article takes into consideration the important decisions in terms of financing made in order to carry out this enlargement and facilitate the convergence process. It also summarises the more political aspects and the administrative consequences linked to this exercise. The second part focuses on three main themes directly related to the enlargement policy: the common agricultural policy, structural funds and the competition policy. In conclusion are given some reflections upon the reasonable feasibility of the ongoing enlargement and the expected positive impact on both the « new» and the « old» members of the EU.