11 May 2009

Panel discussion “From the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 to the 2004 enlargement”

On the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the biggest EU enlargement and the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the European Union Mission organised a panel discussion: “From the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 to the 2004 enlargement”. The event took place on 11 May, at the EU InfoCentre in Skopje in the presence of media.

The ambassadors of the Czech Republic - Jozef BRAUN, Hungary - Ferenc KÉKESI, Poland - Dariusz KAROL BACHURA, Slovenia - Alain BERGANT as well as Robert KIRNAG, Chargé d’ Affaires of the Embassy of Slovakia and their host - Ambassador Erwan FOUÉRE, Head of the EU Mission, addressed the auditorium of representatives of the Government, the National Council for European Integration, the Parliamentarian Committee on European Affairs, the Joint Parliamentary Committee, other EU Ambassadors, civil Society and students.

The ambassadors spoke about the experiences of their countries in the EU accession process in relation to: the improved security and quality life following Czech Republic accession to the EU; the EU membership's contribution to the growth and modernisation of the Hungarian economy; the strengthening of EU’s role and political weight in the world; the impact of the introduction of the Euro on the Slovene economy; the impact of the reunification of the continent and the accession of the new member states to the EU on the creation of a true European identity.

They also emphasised the importance of the fall of the Iron Curtain and the EU enlargement in the reunification of Europe, the restoration of democracy in Europe and the establishing of functional democracies.

The auditorium had an opportunity to see a video address by Commissioner Olli Rehn on the celebration of the Europe Day.

The panel discussion “From the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 to the 2004 enlargement” was part of the 2009 Europe Day programme.