25 Years of EU Enlargement

25th Anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement

Sixth joint issue of the European Union. All 21 eurozone states issue a coin with the same design on varying dates. The coins differ only in the inscription, which appears in the respective national language.

On 1 May 2004, Malta joined the European Union together with nine other states — the largest enlargement step in the history of the Community to that point. For the island state in the central Mediterranean, this day was the result of a long domestic political struggle: an initial application for accession had already been submitted in 1990, and it was only in 2004 that a referendum decided the matter with a narrow majority. Malta is thus the smallest EU member state by area and population, yet holds a distinctive demographic position as the most densely populated country in Europe. The Maltese language — the only Semitic language with official EU status — and the country's strategic location between Europe and North Africa have always shaped a distinctive cultural and geopolitical profile.

EU accession brought considerable economic and social change to Malta: access to the European internal market strengthened tourism and financial services, while Maltese law was aligned with the European legal framework. The euro was introduced in 2008, deepening Malta's economic integration. Twenty-five years after the historic accession of 1 May 2004, Malta marks in 2029 with a commemorative coin a date that has permanently redefined the country's place in Europe.