On 1 May 2004 the people of Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia became citizens of the EU. In the past 20 years, both the EU and the newly joined countries witnessed growth and prosperity. Thanks to EU investments and funds, continental-scale modern infrastructure and connections have been built across all EU countries. Today, the EU is stronger because of the 10 countries that joined two decades ago. And each country is better off thanks to EU membership.
Aerial view of Nicosia cityscape and Eleftheria square with modern futuristic architecture in Cyprus
€34 million in cohesion funding has been invested into the reconstruction of Eleftheria Square, Nicosia’s central square, a new attractive destination for residents and visitors of the Cypriot capital. Eleftheria Square is gradually developing into a vibrant gateway between the Nicosia’s contemporary city centre, and its walled old city.
Czechia plays an important role in many European industries. With one of the largest hard-rock lithium deposits in Europe, Czechia is working to ensure EU access to sustainable supplies of critical raw materials. With EU support, Czechia is supporting Cinovec, a battery metals project located at the border of Germany and Czechia. The project involves underground mining, mineral separation and lithium extraction. At full capacity, this project is expected to cover 8% of EU needs for lithium by 2026.
With financial support from the EU’s Just Transition Fund, Neo Performance Materials is setting up a rare earth magnet manufacturing facility in Estonia. Scheduled to be in operation by 2025, the company will initially produce 2,000 tonnes of finished magnets every year, with the objective of creating 5,000 tonnes annually. The facility will provide enough magnets to support the production of 4.5 million electric cars every year.
Since joining the European Union, Hungary has benefitted from EU investments in transport infrastructure. In the past two decades, motorway lengths have tripled and the country’s rail infrastructure has been modernised. For example, part of the railway section around the northside of Lake Balaton has been electrified. EU funding has also led to the reconstruction and modernisation of railway stations in Hungary, reducing travel time and improving accessibility for passengers.
Latvia is an integral participant in regional projects strengthening digital resilience. As part of the Baltic Ring project, which aims to connect Sweden and Finland via a fibre-based route through the Baltic states, Latvia will help European countries connect with the global cloud, digital services and interconnection hubs globally.
Thanks to financial support from the Connecting Europe Facility, as well as other EU instruments, Lithuania is now better integrated into the EU internal energy market and has access to gas supplies from all over the world. The Gas Interconnector between Poland and Lithuania is among the many initiatives which have helped secure diversified gas supplies in Europe.
With over €41 million in support from the EU’s European Regional Development Fund, Malta has established the Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre, which offers advanced diagnosis and treatment for cancer patients living in the country. With the support of NextGenerationEU funding, Malta is also building a top-level magnetic resonance linear accelerator in the Oncology Centre.
With EU funding under the Marie Skłodowska- Curie Individual Fellowship, Polish researchers are looking to find better treatments for patients suffering from breast cancer. NANOCARGO, a Polish research project, is pushing for a breakthrough in cancer treatments, which could help thousands of women in Europe. The project recently won the Innovation Radar Grand Prix for its important work.
With the support of the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility, Slovakia has been able to reduce its dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Almost €100 million, for example, has been invested in the development of the Poland-Slovakia gas interconnector. The interconnector has opened access to new supply sources for several Member States in Central and South-Eastern Europe, facilitating market development between Northern and Southern Europe.
When Slovenia experienced severe flooding in August 2023, EU countries swiftly stepped in to provide critical assistance to Slovenia, mobilising mobile bridges, helicopters, excavators, and emergency work crews. Since the floods, the European Commission has paid €100 million from the EU Solidarity Fund to Slovenia as an advance to repair some of the damage to public infrastructure.
The data used in the ’20 years together’ campaign are based on Eurostat statistics as well on other official information sources and subject to updates. The surveys referred to are taken from the Eurobarometer.