On the one hand the enlargement of the Union thus prompts us to review the European institutions, to adapt our rules and to clarify our objectives. On the other hand we can not do this without enlarging the Union for nations sharing a common European history, fed by the same values and virtues and adopting similar institutions and political perspectives. Any newcomer already knows how many seats he may have in these institutions, what the procedures are of political decision-making and what the objective conditions imply for joining the Union. By doing so, the work is not finished. Nice was an important step in shaping the Union, but it was not a final step.
Many issues are still open for discussion.
First of all the political union is still far behind the economic and monetary union. We yet did not agree on a common foreign and defence policy. We still do not have one European framework for police and justice, nor did we find a common approach for the many asylum seekers, migrants and refugees fleeing to Europe. Existing national states will not disappear. But there is a growing awareness that Union decision-making has to be enhanced and that European institutions can go further than what we attained in Nice.