The expansion of the European Union
| 13:22 UK time, Tuesday, 26 September 2006
Hi there. It didn't take long in this morning's meeting for us all to realise that it's the European Union that has got a lot of you . Romania and Bulgaria and will become the Union's 26th and 27th members at the beginning of next year.
So, are you raising a glass to a bigger EU? If you aren't why not, and if you are, would you like to see it expand still further? If you're in the Ukraine, Russia and Turkey we'd be especially interested to hear from you.
Last week we travelled to Sofia, Bucharest and Brussels to hear whether some of you in Romania and Bulgaria were hoping for this decision. Most of you definitely were. Well, now it's here and we've a clearer idea of the conditions attached to EU membership (curbing organised crime, controlling animal disease and administering farm aid being three), are you still keen to become an EU member?
One final request. I really enjoyed last week's programme (and not just because I was sitting on Brussels' ). It was fascinating for me to hear from so many of you in Bulgaria and Romania about why your governments were right or wrong to be so actively pursuing a seat at the EU table. The conversations though often stayed at a national and international level, with macro-economics, governance and national cultures dominating the agenda. No problem there at all, but I'd also be really keen to hear how you feel EU expansion will affect YOUR life. Where in your day-to-day life do you think you'll feel the difference? Of course, you're the boss, so we'll take on this subject however you choose.
Speak to you later.
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