Let me conclude with expressing my conviction that the enlargement of the European Union and the economic and monetary integration of the acceding countries will not only strengthen the role of the European Union as a global player in the long term, but also make a sustainable contribution to stability, peace and welfare in Europe.
Therefore, I am looking forward to this new era that lies in front of us, characterized by a larger number of Member States and, in terms of ideas, by an even larger potential of human beings. BIS Review 24/2004  3