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| Kalle Jürgenson | State Budget 2000, What and Why? |
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| Olev Raju | Commentaries on the State Budget 2000 |
| Madis Võõras | Estonia on the Way to Full Membership of the European Space Agency |
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| Ene Ergma | Estonia Has Become a Space State |
| Urve Läänemets | A Good Teacher Should Be Ready to Learn Also from the Pupils |
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| Külli Eichenbaum | Using the Local Peculiarities of Old Võromaa |
The massive enlargement of the European Union in 2004 ushered in a fundamental change – eight out of the ten new Member States had felt the yoke of Communist totalitarianism.
* This is the 4th and last instalment in the series of articles published by Riigikogu Toimetised, where the author reminisces on the first fifteen years as an Estonian MEP (see also Riigikogu Toimetised No 42, 43, 44).
As a result of the extensive 2004 enlargement or the European Union, the Baltic Sea has to all intents and purposes become an internal sea of the Union, surrounded by eight Member States.
As a long-time Member of the European Parliament (EP), the author shares his memories of the first EP elections in Estonia and the popular attitudes in Estonia in 2004 when we joined the European Union.
After Estonia restored its independence in 1991, the first instinct of the national leaders was to join the united Europe as soon as possible.
The writer believes that things have gone fairly well for Estonia as a member state in its first five years in the European Union.
For a newcomer from the Estonian Riigikogu, the working arrangement of the European Parliament, which allows continuous communications with various political groups, is quite striking.
At the 2000 summit in Nice, the EU's leaders laid the groundwork for the expansion of Europe with many necessary institutional changes. It was clear to all member states that it would be difficult to achieve unanimity and because of that expansion would be more difficult.
Recent trends indicate an increasingly important and wider role for national parliaments both in the EU legislative process and in domestic decision-making. Eurointegration seems to have resulted in the general strengthening of the sense of responsibility and self-awareness in national parliaments. Public opinion tends to view the EU as a huge bureaucracy far away in Brussels whose decisions benefit only those making them. On the other hand, the European Parliament, elected directly by the citizens since 1979, is believed to be the most democratic institution. The Amsterdam Treaty defines the functions of national parliaments and further strengthens the European Parliament's role.
