2003年4月16日,塞浦路斯、捷克、爱沙尼亚、匈牙利、拉脱维亚、立陶宛、马耳他、波兰、斯洛伐克和斯洛文尼亚等欧洲10国加入欧盟条约的签字仪式在希腊首都雅典隆重举行。这次规模空前的扩大给欧洲各国带来了诸多政治和安全上的好处,但由于新加入的国家不但有10个之多.而且家底太薄,意味着欧盟又得花掉大把的银子。 On April 16, 2003, the signing ceremony of 10 EU countries including Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia to join the EU treaty was held in Athens, capital of Greece. This unprecedented expansion has brought many political and security benefits to European countries. However, as there are more than 10 newly added countries, the fact that the family is too thin means that the EU has to spend a lot of money.