Sweden, Bulgaria, Austria – 10

Slovakia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania – 7

Latvia, Slovenia, Estonia, Cyprus, Luxembourg – 4

Malta – 3

Total – 342

A qualified majority in the new voting system will be 255 (74.56%).

The enlargement facing the EU today poses a unique challenge, since it is without precedent in terms of scope and diversity: the number of candidates, the area (increase of 34%) and population (increase of 105 million), the wealth of different histories and cultures. Third countries will significantly benefit from an enlarged Union.

The challenges of the future

After a half century of Community history, Europeans still have a lot of soul-searching to do: How far could and should the Union be taken in order to maximise the strength which derives from unity, without at the same time eroding identity and destroying the individual ethos which makes the richness of our nations, regions and cultures? Can they move forward in step, thanks to the natural harmony which favours consensus between 15 countries, or should they recognise divergences of approach and differentiate their pace of integration? What are the limits of Community Europe, at a time when so many nations, starting with the new democracies of central and eastern Europe and the Balkans, along with Turkey, are asking to join the process of unification in progress? How can the people of Europe get everyone involved in the Community undertaking and give them the feeling of a European identity which complements and goes beyond fundamental solidarity?

All these are questions of principle, fundamental questions the answers to which will themselves determine the specific and technical matters addressed daily by those who have the task of taking this Community undertaking forward.