I stand before this House for the last time this year. A year that started with the successful launch of the euro and concludes with another giant step forward.

We have used a lot of superlatives this year, which has been the year of Europe. But I am not overstating the case when I say that the Copenhagen European Summit is a landmark in European construction.

When I took office I pledged that enlargement, the biggest enlargement in the EU's history, would be my Commission's top priority. We have delivered.

Some people might have the impression that the conclusion of the accession negotiations at Copenhagen was a formality, that the deal was "in the bag". Nothing could be further from the truth. Political courage and strong leadership was required on all sides to get this result.

And I should like to single out the tremendous work done by the Danish Presidency. As the multiple negotiations went down to the wire, they maintained a steady hand at the helm and a cool head under great pressure. Prime Minister, you personally contributed much to this success.

But this result is also the fruit of our hard work. The Commission put together twelve remarkable teams of negotiators who reached a deal on thirty-one chapters with each and every acceding country.

Day in, day out, for over three years, 350 Commission officials and over 700 people in the Commission delegations in the candidate countries have been weaving the fabric of this silent revolution.

I want to voice here my gratitude to Günter Verheugen, our intelligent, passionate and patient chief negotiator. And to Eneko Landaburu and the whole Directorate-General for Enlargement for their dedication and first-rate work.

Today I am proud and happy to have had this unique opportunity to preside over the fate of an Institution, the Commission, that has contributed so much to the accomplishment of our dream of "One Europe".

Honourable Members,

Ten countries have completed the last lap. The others still have a way to go.

Romania and Bulgaria have been given detailed road maps to reach their target accession date of 2007. And in December 2004 we have a rendez-vous with Turkey to see if it meets the conditions for opening negotiations.

I was heartened by the fact that the first joint act of the 25 current and acceding members was to issue a statement in support of the "continuous, inclusive and irreversible enlargement process". These encouraging words echo the vision and generosity that led to the founding of this Union.

The statement endorsed the Commission's proposal to give Romania and Bulgaria more help in preparing for membership by raising their pre-accession aid by 20%. They must seize this chance to step up their preparations.

Turkey will also be receiving an enhanced package to help it prepare its candidacy. A candidacy which, I reiterate, will be judged on its own merits and by the same criteria as any other candidate.

This date will give Turkey time to push ahead with the reforms it must make to satisfy the Copenhagen criteria and implement them both in law and in practice. The Commission will report on its progress and make recommendations with complete objectivity and impartiality.

This successful Summit achieved practically all its objectives.

We came close to getting agreement on a settlement for Cyprus. Although the unflagging efforts of the negotiators and the UN Secretary-General were not crowned with success at the Summit, the two sides' willingness to continue negotiating with the aim of getting agreement by 28 February gives us real grounds for optimism.

Mr President, Honourable Members,

As Europe grows its responsibilities grow.

We are inviting new members to join our area of peace, prosperity and stability. But our work in promoting these values does not stop at the borders of the European Union. The aim of "One Europe" embraces the whole continent.

Each enlargement brings us new neighbours for which the EU is a pole of attraction. Some hope to become candidates themselves.

The countries of the western Balkans rightly belong in the European Union in the long term. This prospect was confirmed by the Copenhagen Council.

The Stabilisation and Association Process is a powerful instrument and we should be proactive in using it. The Commission is looking forward to working with the Greek Presidency in the lead-up to the Thessaloniki Summit where, I am convinced, we can offer a detailed and substantial response to the letter that the five Presidents of the Western Balkans sent us on the eve of the Copenhagen Council.

We shall obviously have to think long and hard about where the borders of the EU will ultimately lie. But this is something we as Europeans, after listening to everyone, shall decide ourselves, without any outside interference.

The debate on where Europe's borders lie is actually a debate about our identity. It will be conducted in this House, in the national parliaments, and will involve all European citizens.

This search for the roots of our identity does not mean creating new divisions. European integration will offer benefits and new prospects for our neighbours as well.

We need to build a strong network of relations based on shared political and economic values with neighbouring countries from Russia to the Mediterranean.

This is a strategic objective of my Commission.

This proximity policy would bring our neighbours many of the benefits of membership without formally joining the Union in the next future. The European Economic Area -- with an enriched political content -- is a useful model for such relations, which I describe as "sharing everything but institutions".

Our proximity policy must be attractive, unlocking new prospects and bringing mutual benefits. It must motivate our partners to cooperate more closely with the EU and it must be dynamic, based on a structured, step-by-step approach.

Honourable Members

We have successfully negotiated the first round of enlargement. We now have to make enlargement happen.

Final drafting of the Accession Treaty for ratification and signing in Athens next April can now proceed. But our biggest job in coming months must be to inform and reassure our citizens in both the present Member States and the acceding countries. The Commission will be mounting an information campaign and the members of this House can play a crucial role.

Many people in the former communist countries fear they might be giving up newly found freedoms by joining another large block. Others in the Fifteen worry about the costs and implications of letting in countries poorer than themselves.

Many of these fears are groundless. As Günter Verheugen has said, this is the best prepared enlargement in the history of the Union.

You and I know that the cost of enlargement is nothing compared with the cost of non-enlargement. We know that the benefits of membership more than compensate the added responsibilities. But we must spread this knowledge.

The enlargement process has been driven forward thanks to tremendous determination, political courage and vision.

We have to convince Europeans that by coming together they will all gain. Not just materially, through shared prosperity and sustainable development in the biggest market in the world. But also politically, as citizens of a democratic and accountable Union.

The credibility of the new enlarged Europe will also, as I have said before, hang on the credibility of its institutions and its credibility as a protagonist in world affairs.

So I warmly welcome the EU-NATO agreement concluded at the Summit, which will enable us to implement military peace-keeping operations in the Balkans as early as next year.

But the moment of truth in the coming year will be institutional reform. We cannot make good our promises to our citizens unless we overhaul the EU's machinery. Only by strengthening the EU's decision-making process can we build the cohesive, responsible Union that will earn their respect and admiration.

This greater unity and decisiveness must be reflected on the world stage. Our growing responsibilities allow us no scope for vacillation and inaction.

So the task of the Convention and of those contributing to it is just as momentous as the accession negotiations.

Mr President,

Prime Minister,

Honourable Members,

The success of Copenhagen has made me optimistic that we can overcome any obstacles still facing us if we draw on the same blend of vision and pragmatism that have made the European Union a unique model of political integration.

President Cox, Prime Minister, Honourable Members, I extend to you all the season's greetings and hope that you enjoy a well-earned break.

Thank you.