EU enlargement 1st May - School of Slavonic and East European Studies experts available for media comment

On 1 May 2004, ten new states will become members of the European Union.

These are: Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. UCL's School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), has at its disposal some of the world's foremost experts on the culture and history of the majority of the countries now joining the EU, and these academics are available for media comment on the implications of the enlargement for both the UK and the acceding nation themselves in the lead-up to accession and beyond.

Journalists covering the accession and wishing to contact relevant academics from the acceding countries from the Slavonic and East European region, should contact the UCL Media Relations office to make the necessary arrangements.

Notes for Editors

1. SSEES was established in 1915 to study and teach the languages, literature, history, culture and social conditions of the nation states emerging out of the First World War. One of its joint founders, Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, went on to become the first President of Czechoslovakia.

2. On Wednesday 5th May, the President of the Republic of Poland, His Excellency Aleksander Kwasniewski, will deliver a keynote address at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at a ceremony to celebrate the unveiling of the foundation stone of the School's new building. For more information, or to request an invitation, media should also contact the UCL Media Relations office.