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EU signs up 10 new members
http://www.sina.com.cn 2003/04/17 11:38  Shanghai Daily

  As anti-war protesters rioted in the streets of Athens that gave birth to European democracy, leaders of 25 nations gathered yesterday to sign treaties sweeping away the 20th century's Iron Curtain divide.

  Meeting in the shadow of the ancient Acropolis, 10 nations will sign treaties joining the European Union.

  "The old continent of Europe is reunified under the principles of freedom and democracy," Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said.

  The existing 15 EU nations are also striving to repair their own unity, badly frayed by differences over the US and British war against Iraq.

  Divided over the conflict, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac and the other leaders are seeking to present a united front on how to help postwar Iraq.

  UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan joined the EU leaders, who have signaled their support for a strong UN role in postwar reconstruction despite doubts from the United States.

  "There is agreement that in principle the United Nations must have a key role," Blair told reporters on Tuesday after meeting German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Germany on the eve of the EU talks.

  Outside the signing ceremony, held in the Athens' ancient Agora, demonstrations against the war turned violent as some protesters hurled gasoline bombs at police, burned banks and smashed storefronts. They also threw rocks at the British Embassy and attacked police in front of the American Embassy.

  Most of the 5,000 protesters demonstrated peacefully; a handful of more radical activists seemed to be responsible for the violence.

  With the number of demonstrators expected to grow, more than 10,000 police officers have been deployed for the two-day EU meeting, setting up a security cordon around the city center and a nearby coastal resortswheresthe leaders will dine.

  EU leaders fear that the rioting will detract from the historic resonance of the ceremony that will bring 10 nationssintosthe EU fold: Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Cyprus and Malta.

  The countries will formally join on May 1, 2004, pending ratification of the treaties by referendums and parliament votes.

  The new members, however, will immediately take their seats as observers in the regular meetings that set EU policy.

  "This Union represents our common determination to put an end to centuries of conflict and transcend former divisions," the leaders said in a prepared statement.

  Before the treaty signing, the leaders will turn their attention to the yearlong efforts to draft an EU constitution that sets out how the bloc will work after its expansion.




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