Diplomatic Sources: Likely EU Expansion Date is 1 May 2004

Brussels, 14 November - New member states, among them Slovenia, are most likely to join the European union on 1 May 2004, STA has found out from diplomatic sources in Brussels. Two other dates for EU expansion are also being mentioned at the moment - 1 April 2004 and 1 June 2004, the latter being an extreme option. The sources add that it is unrealistic to expect enlargement on 1 January 2004, as had initially been expected by the candidate countries.