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Witness History

Ten countries join the EU in one night

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.41.6K Ratings

🗓️ 1 May 2025

⏱️ 11 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On 1 May 2004, the European Union went through its biggest ever enlargement. 10 countries joined including eight from the former Soviet Union’s sphere of influence. For some, it was the moment the Eastern Bloc threw off the shackles of the Cold War and embraced a prosperous future in the EU. For others, it was the moment European countries lost control of their borders, leading to mass migration. Twice Italian Prime Minister, Professor Romano Prodi, was President of the European Commission at the time. He speaks to Ben Henderson.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: People celebrate the Czech Republic joining the EU. Credit: Sean Gallup via Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:05.4

My name's Katie Lecky and I'm an assistant commissioner for on demand music on BBC Sounds.

0:10.7

The BBC has an incredible musical heritage and culture and as a music lover, I love being part of that.

0:17.4

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you nod off, boogie in your kitchen, or even just a moment of calm. And they're all put together

0:28.7

by people who know their stuff. So if you want some expertly curated music in your life,

0:34.9

check out BBC Sounds.

0:40.3

Hello. in your life, check out BBC Sounds. Hello and welcome to the Witness History podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Ben

0:45.8

Henderson, one of the presenters, and we're the podcast that takes you back to the biggest

0:49.8

moments in history, told by the people who were there. Episodes are just nine minutes long, and they're at least every weekday.

0:56.3

So if that sounds like your cup of tea, make sure you subscribe and turn on your notifications.

1:01.2

Now, today we're going back to the 1st of May 2004, when 10 countries, many from the old

1:07.6

Soviet sphere of influence, joined the European Union in one night.

1:12.4

My dream was to end the Cold War.

1:16.8

This was really my dream.

1:19.3

This is twice Italian Prime Minister, Professor Romano Prodi.

1:23.4

On that night in 2004,

1:25.5

he was president of the European Commission,

1:28.0

the man who drove through the EU's enlargement.

1:30.9

For some, it was the moment that Eastern Bloc threw off the shackles of the Cold War

1:34.9

and embraced a prosperous future in the EU.

1:38.1

For others, it was the moment European countries lost control of their borders,

...

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