Wednesday 1 May marked exactly 20 years since the largest enlargement of the European Union. Ten countries - the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia – joined the Union. To commemorate this milestone, the Court of Justice of the European Union organized an international conference titled 20 years since the accession of 10 States to the European Union: A new constitutional moment for Europe. Several personalities from the judiciary, politics and academia spoke at the event held at the Court’s Luxembourg headquarters on Friday 3 May. The general theme of the conference was the contribution that the enlargement has had in moving the EU integration project forward. Has it led to a greater consolidation of EU law and to more detailed regulation of certain areas falling within the competence of the EU? Or, on the contrary, has it brought new obstacles to the application of EU law? Twenty years on, what are the lessons learned on widening and deepening of the European integration project? Has the largest single enlargement with its successes and challenges brought about a stronger Union of European citizens?

A day earlier, on Thursday 2 May, a meeting of representatives of the highest courts of the EU Member States, representatives of the Court of Justice and the representatives of the General Court, was also held at the seat of the Court of Justice of the EU. The forum focused on three themes: 1. preliminary ruling proceedings: recent case-law on procedural aspects; 2. mutual recognition and fundamental rights; and 3. access to documents and justice, particularly in the environmental sphere. Moreover, three parallel workshops took place in the afternoon. The first one dealt with internal market and social policy challenge, the second focused on the protection of personal data the third discussed the potential of artificial intelligence to support judicial activities. 

The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic was represented in Luxembourg by the Vice President Kateřina Ronovská, who also took on the role of moderator of the second workshop, which dealt with the protection of personal data. 

For more information on Friday’s international conference, including a video recording of the event, click here .  

Pavel Dvořák
Head of External Relations and Protocol Department  

The conference was held at the seat of the Court of Justice of the EU in Luxembourg

The two-day programme was opened by the President of the Court of Justice of the EU, Koen Lenaerts

Kateřina Ronovská, Vice President of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, moderated a workshop thematically focused on the protection of personal data 

Judge of the General Court Petra Škvařilová-Pelzl also spoke at the Meeting of Judges

Jiří Malenovský, Judge Emeritus of the Court of Justice of the EU and Justice Emeritus of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, delivered a speech at the conference to mark the 20th anniversary of EU enlargement
 

© Photo: Court of Justice of the European Union (Cour de justice de l'Union européenne)