Scenes of celebration have been seen across Romania and Bulgaria as the countries greeted New Year, which marked their accession to the European Union, and seventeen years since the fall of communism.
Across the two capitals, Bucharest and Sofia, more than ten thousand people were reported to have attended concerts to rejoice at the newly found status their countries have been given.The president of Romania, Traian Basescu, addressed the crowds, saying that EU entry was an "enormous chance for future generations".
He said, "It was hard, but we arrived at the end of the road. It is the road of our future. It is the road of our joy. We arrived in Europe. Welcome to Europe," Basescu said.
The EU now increases to 27 members, and surpasses more than half a billion people.
Prior to the speech, the EU flag was raised outside the government HQ in Bucharest as the European anthem, Beethoven's Ode to Joy, was played.
In Sofia, a pyramid of light illuminated the sky, with rays emanating from the city's Orthodox cathedral, its Armenian church, a synagogue, a mosque and another church. Fireworks lit the sky over the building where the Communist Party once held its HQ.
Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov gave an emotional speech to the nation, calling the country's EU entry a "heavenly moment".
"The day we are welcoming - 1 January 2007 - will undoubtedly find its place among the most important dates in our national history.
"But let's make it clear, our future success as a nation depends not on European funds and resources, but on our own work."
The two new countries will now come under strict monitoring rules, with many analysts saying there is a risk that EU aid will be mis-spent, or just not taken up because the countries' institutions are too disorganised.
Other fears that have been expressed have been that the countries' economies will fail to compete with the rest of the EU's once trade barriers come down. Both Bulgaria and Romania are much poorer than the rest of the EU, with GDP per capita of about 33% of the EU average, compared with 50% in Poland.
Many of the Western European member states have expressed fears of a flood of new immigrants, but officials in both countries say most of those who wanted to work abroad have already done so.
