Malta is today celebrating its first five years in the EU.

On May 1, 2004 the European Union underwent its biggest ever enlargement, nicknamed the Big Bang. The EU welcomed 10 new member states.

Besides Malta and Cyprus, eight former communist countries joined the bloc, increasing the number of member states from 15 to 25.

Accession was a political, economic and social milestone for a rather young independent state. Malta had only achieved independence 40 years before, a relatively short period in the history of a nation.

Only 25 years before EU accession, the last British forces had left the island, a move that signalled a shift from an economy dependent on a foreign country's military spending to one running on its own steam.

Accession was also the culmination of the political vision of Eddie Fenech Adami who, on becoming leader of the Nationalist Party in 1977, made it his mantra to anchor the country in the family of European nations.

During the past five years Malta had to make changes in the way it conducted its business. EU laws became binding and the island had to shore up and meet higher standards in all spheres. Some it achieved and on others it still has a long way to go.

Pressured by the EU, Malta never saw so much spending on environmental projects and, yet, it still lags behind in controlling air pollution from its power- plants, producing energy from renewable sources and managing its underground water sources in a sustainable way.

It invested in two sewage treatment plants but missed the target for their construction.

One of the biggest challenges successfully addressed during the first years of accession was the reining in of the deficit, which in 2004 stood at 10 per cent. The country met the Maastricht criteria to adopt the euro last year, even if it slipped back into the red by the end of 2008.

Commemorating this anniversary, the European Commission yesterday said that the 2004 enlargement was a historic step towards unifying Europe after decades of division brought about by the Cold War.

Although, at the time, some of the 15 existing EU countries were worried about the impact the new members would have on their economies and social systems, five years later, a study by the Commission shows those fears were allayed and expansion turned out to be a win-win situation for member countries new and old.

According to the study, enlargement contributed to significant improvement in living standards in the new member states, enabling them to modernise their economies and enjoy stable institutions and laws.

It also brought about new investment and export opportunities for enterprises in the older member states.