[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 7895]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             EU ENLARGEMENT

  (Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, 53 years ago, acting on a vision conceived 
by French businessman Jean Monnet and proposed by Robert Schuman, six 
nations of Europe agreed to create what we now know as the European 
Union. On Saturday, May 1, there will be yet another historic milestone 
toward achieving the dreams of Monnet and Schuman. Ten nations, eight 
of which just a few years ago were trapped behind the Iron Curtain, 
will become members of the European Union.
  Mr. Speaker, the commitment of those 10 nations to shared values, to 
the pursuit of political and economic reforms and to solidarity with 
each other have helped facilitate these changes. The historic 
enlargement of the EU along with that of the recent NATO enlargement 
has resulted in a giant step towards a Europe that is whole and free, 
democratic and dynamic, and at peace.
  Mr. Speaker, the newest members of the EU have done a remarkable job 
preparing for this day. On the eve of this historic enlargement of the 
European Union it is appropriate, as we did recently with the newest 
members of NATO, to congratulate Estonia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, 
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

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