PE483A: FDC BLOC Belgium - 10 NEW EU MEMBERS 2004 - 1st European Constitution

The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was adopted by the European Council of Brussels on 18 June 2004, and signed the 29 October in Rome in the presence of the European Parliament President, Josep Borrell Fontelles.

Approved by the European Parliament, the Treaty was then rejected by France (29 May 2005) and the Netherlands (1 June 2005) in their national referenda. Following the rejection of the Constitutional Treaty EU countries began work on the Lisbon Treaty.

In 2004, the European Union experienced the largest enlargement in its history with the accession of Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. In 2007, two other Eastern European states joined the Union: Bulgaria and Romania. Croatia was the last state to join the EU on 1 July 2013.

After the withdrawal of the United Kingdom in 2020, the EU has 27 Member States.

A series of philatelic covers, co-produced by Historiaphil© (European Parliament Philatelic Kiosk, Strasbourg, France) commemorates the largest enlargement in the history of the EU. It was produced as a continuation of the collection of philatelic envelopes which have been bearing witness to the history of Europe and its institutions since 1949. Its print run is limited to 120 numbered copies.