EU expands eastward
May 1, 2004
Ten countries, mostly former satellites of the Soviet Union, joined the European Union in a single Brussels ceremony, the largest expansion in the bloc's history. Polish plumbers, Estonian engineers, and Hungarian students suddenly had the legal right to live and work anywhere from Lisbon to Helsinki. The continent's Cold War geography, frozen for four decades, dissolved overnight.
In context
Also in 2004 (4 other events on record)
- Indian Ocean Tsunami · Southeast Asia · Disaster
- Facebook founded in a dorm · North America · Technology
- Madrid train bombings · Europe · War
- Beslan school siege · Europe · War
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Politics
Era
Contemporary (2001–2026), one of 196 events from that era on Saeculum.