Historic Eastern Enlargement — Ten New Members Join

Ten countries acceded to the EU simultaneously: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, and Malta — expanding membership from 15 to 25. This was the largest single enlargement in EU history, adding over 75 million citizens. The accession of eight former communist states was the culmination of post-Cold War integration policy and transformed the EU's centre of gravity eastward.