Joining Diverse Cultural Traditions in
one Union
 The
unprecedented enlargement, which will take place on the
1 May will mean that the hard work done by both the EU member
states and the accession countries will be crowned with
success. Our joining the 'European family' marks our official
return to the European fold, where we always belonged and
where our historic roots lie.
Each enlargement makes the European Union
richer with diverse political and cultural traditions. Each
new member adds its own, sometimes difficult and painful,
historical past.
Accession to the EU does not require any
changes to its members' traditions, national customs and
habits. It only needs more openness and more solidarity
with the rest of member nations. It is necessary to learn
how to share with others.
When facing new challenges and developing
Union's policies we will always be confronted with multitude
of national interests. In coping with these challenges we
shall never forget about the most important goal: common
Europe. Enlargement based on the rule of solidarity is our
common good and it is a future-oriented investment.
Despite our diversity, in the future EU it
should not be difficult for us to define common European
good, because it is based on a set of universal values.
As long as the European diversity is managed properly, in
the spirit of solidarity and to everyone's advantage, we
should be able to successfully solve internal as well as
external problems of the Union of the 21st century.
This is the role of the enlarged Union of 25 member states.
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