Celebrations of EU's enlargement could also be felt in Beijing as a flag raising ceremony was held yesterday at the Czech Republic's embassy. Ambassadors of all 25 EU member states to China attended the ceremony. Despite the light drizzle in the Chinese capital, every participant was happy.

EU ambassador Klaus Ebermann said the EU enlargement will help to make Europe a more stable, wealthy and peaceful region.

As for what EU expansion means to China, the ambassador explains:

"The EU market for Chinese goods is becoming larger, since there are the same market rules, the same market entry, and a market of more than 450 million consumers, very important. Second the tariffs of the ten new member states have been traditionally 9 percent, and they are going down less than 4 percent. If China loses out, we will make some compensation under WTO rules."

The ambassador says the EU enlargement will also offer many opportunities for Chinese investors.

Tomas Smetanka is Czech ambassador to China. He thinks the EU membership is extremely important for his country.

"It means the division of Europe for more than 50 years are definitely overcome, that it opens new possibilities for our economy, culture and overall development. For us it is an event to put us back where we think is the right place."

However, EU Ambassador Klaus Ebermann speaks cautiously about some long-existing problems:

"There are no new problems, no special problems. Many of the new members have a per capita income which is on average 40 percent of some old members. This is not a new situation. We have strong policies what you call in China balanced development. We have a total of one third of our budget to do that."

He says the enlargement of the EU will be helpful to the drafting of an European Constitution, which is crucial to the whole body's decision making process and will also make the EU more accountable.

(cri.com May 2, 2004)