Treaty of Accession 2003

The Treaty of Accession 2003 is an agreement between the European Union and the ten countries of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, on the accession of these countries to the EU. At the same time the contract changed some provisions that were originally established by the Treaty of Nice.

The Treaty of Accession 2003 was signed on 16 April 2003 at the ancient Agora in Athens by the Heads of State or Government and Foreign Ministers of the EU Member States and representatives of the ten accession countries and, together with the other decisions to expand on September 23, 2003 published in the Official Journal of the European Union. He is regarded as " monstrous contract work" with a total of about 5000 pages, and save the actual contract covers the individual contracts with the candidate countries, transitional provisions and many other agreements.

He joined on 1 May 2004 and was based on the Treaty of Nice, which had prepared the 2004 EU enlargement. The decision to expand was - been finally adopted after more than ten years of preparedness for EU membership in December 2002 in Copenhagen. Among other things, the Member States agreed with the candidate countries on a financial package for the first years after enlargement.

The title of the main contract is: Treaty between the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, Ireland, the Italian Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Austria, the Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Finland, the Kingdom of Sweden, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Member States of the European Union ) and the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic concerning the accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic to the European Union.

The Treaty itself contains the names and signatures of all 25 contractors and holds the principle of enlargement to ten new Member States. For the shooting conditions and the necessary adjustments to the Treaties of the EU Treaty refers to the separate Act, which was part of the contract.

Terms: Accession Documents / Accession Treaty

Under accession documents or the term " documents concerning the accession (...) " means the Official Journal of the European Union " the sum of all acts that are essential after the accession requirements and the previous accession practice for a candidate ."

The accession in 2003 therefore includes:

• Commission Opinion on the applications
• Legislative resolutions of the European Parliament on the applications
• Council decision on the admission of the candidate countries to the European Union
• Information relating to the entry into force of the Accession Treaty
• Accession Treaty
• Act
• Annexes to the Act of Accession and Accounts
• Protocols of the Act
• Final Act

The term accession documents is therefore broader than that of the Accession Treaty.

Structure of the Accession Treaty

This Accession Agreement is loud Final Act of four parts:

• Accession Treaty (Art. 1-3)
• Act concerning the conditions of accession and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded (Art. 1-62 ], so-called Act *
• Texts that the v.g. Act is attached, consisting of: Annexes I - XVIII: I: List of provisions of the companies included in the scope of the EU Schengen acquis and the acts building upon it or otherwise related instruments to be applied from the date of accession of the new Member States and in binding them ( in accordance with Article 3 of the Act of Accession)
• II: List referred to in Article 20 of the Act
• III: List referred to in Article 21 of the Act
• IV: List referred to in Article 22 of the Act
• V: List referred to in Article 24 of the Act of Accession: Czech Republic
• VI: List referred to in Article 24 of the Act of Accession: Estonia
• VII: List referred to in Article 24 of the Act of Accession: Cyprus
• VIII: List referred to in Article 24 of the Act of Accession: Latvia
• IX: List referred to in Article 24 of the Act of Accession: Lithuania
• X: List referred to in Article 24 of the Act of Accession: Hungary
• XI: List referred to in Article 24 of the Act of Accession: Malta
• XII: List referred to in Article 24 of the Act of Accession: Poland
• XIII: List referred to in Article 24 of the Act of Accession: Slovenia
• XIV: List referred to in Article 24 of the Act of Accession: Slovakia
• XV: Maximum additional appropriations pursuant to Article 32 paragraph 1 of the Act
• XVI: List referred to in Article 52 paragraph 1 of the Act
• XVII: List referred to in Article 52 paragraph 2 of the Act
• XVIII: List referred to in Article 52 paragraph 3 of the Act

• Protocol 1 on the amendments to the Statute of the European Investment Bank
• Protocol 2 on the restructuring of the Czech steel industry (including Appendix 1-4)
• Protocol 3 including on the Sovereign Base Areas of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Cyprus [ Appendix and Declaration of the EU Commission)
• Protocol No 4 on the Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania
• Protocol 5 on the transit of persons by land between the region of Kaliningrad and other parts of the Russian Federation
• Protocol No. 6 on the acquisition of secondary residences in Malta
• Protocol 7 on abortion in Malta
• Protocol No 8 on the restructuring of the Polish steel industry (including Appendix 1-4)
• Protocol No 9 on Unit 1 and Unit 2 of the Bohunice V1 in Slovakia
• Protocol No 10 on Cyprus

• Text of the Final Act
• Declarations of an agent
• Other Declarations Joint Declarations: The present Member States / Estonia
• Joint Declarations: Several present Member States / Several new Member States
• Joint Declarations by the present Member States
• Joint Declarations by various present Member States
• General Joint Declaration of derzeitigenMitgliedstaaten
• Joint statements of several new Member States
• Explanations of the Czech Republic
• Declarations by the Republic of Estonia
• Declarations by the Republic of Latvia
• Declarations by the Republic of Lithuania
• Declarations by the Republic of Malta
• Declarations by the Republic of Poland
• Declarations by the Republic of Slovenia
• Statements by the Commission of the European Communities

Provisions of the Treaty

A large part of the texts dealt with the transition periods and the financial support for the accession countries. But overall, partly fixed already in the Nice Treaty provisions touching the extension agreement. For example, the date of introduction of the new double majority in the Council of the European Union has been moved from 1 January 2005 to 1 November 2004, with the transitional provisions.

Chronology of the European Treaties