Delegates at the EU Summit in Nice hoped to bring in a raft of reforms, contained in a new 'Treaty of Nice'. The treaty was intended to enable the EU to cope with enlargement when at least 10 more countries, many from eastern Europe, join in a few years' time.
Special areas earmarked for reform included the European Commission and the voting system in the Council of Ministers.
December 10
EU flag flies outside the conference centre
|
After a marathon night of talks the leaders finally agree the treaty. Despite the UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, hailing the summit's achievements in the end Nice did not prove as radical as predicted. The BBC's Justin Webb reports.
Click here to watch
December 10
Greece's Costas Simitis was upset by the first proposal
|
European Union leaders move closer to agreement on the touchy issue of sharing power between small and large countries, as the BBC's Colin Blane reports from the Nice summit.
Click here to watch
December 8
French President Jacques Chirac speaks to reporters at the summit
|
This is the day leaders dealt with a series of thorny issues, including an agreement over the status of the new European Rapid Reaction Force, as the BBC's Justin Webb reports.
Click here to watch
December 7
Protesters vent their anger by burning the EU flag
|
Violent clashes mar the beginning of the summit, as running battles take place between anti-capitalist demonstrators and riot police. The BBC's Europe Correspondent Justin Webb is in Nice.
Click here to watch
December 6
Reichstag, Berlin
|
Some European politicians are looking beyong Nice to a point where the much maligned European superstate does exist. Newsnight's Martha Kearney reports from a forward looking Berlin.
Click here to watch
December 5
Social service spending in Holland dwarfs that in the UK
|
EU countries will be horse-trading over rules and regulations, such as which countries will have a veto over things like social security spending. The BBC's Janet Cohen reports from a Dutch nursery.
Click here to listen
Polish workers cost less than their German neighbours
|
Workers in eastern Germany have only recently recovered from the transition from communism, and now face the direct threat of a nearby cheap labour market. The BBC's Patrick Bartlett reports a few miles from the Polish border in Germany.
Click here to listen
The Romania-Moldova border is tightly controlled
|
Romania's eastern border guards are typical of the kind of attempt the EU will have to make to avoid a stream of illegal immigrants. The BBC's Sue Lloyd-Roberts reports from the border.
Click here to watch
December 4
Central Nice
|
European leaders will have difficulty getting ordinary citizens interested in the subjects under discussion at the summit. The BBC's Branwen Jeffreys reports from Paris.
Click here to listen
November 30
Concentration camp in East Poland
|
Poland is at the front of the queue to join the EU, but enthusiasm is waning as Poles realise what membership might bring. The BBC's Diplomatic Editor Bridget Kendall reports from Lublin.
Click here to watch