Ten new countries officially joined the European Union at midnight central European time (2200 GMT Friday) in the largest ever enlargement of the bloc, which now has 25 members and a population of 455 million.

The ten new members are Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus and Malta.

Celebrations are going on across Western Europe and parts of Eastern Europe as fireworks lit up the sky and jubilant people danced on the streets.

Several German cities and towns held rallies Friday night to celebrate the formal accession of the ten new members into the EU.

Near the city of Frankfurt, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and his Polish counterpart Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz shook hands at the bridge across the Oder border river to mark the beginning of the EU enlargement.

"This is an historic moment when our two countries, foes so many times over so many centuries, can join hands in joyous friendship at long last," Fischer said.

Fireworks soared overhead as the two foreign ministers shook hands and embraced each other to the cheers of large crowds on both sides of the river.

In the Irish capital Dublin, tens of thousands of people flocked late Friday to the Sandymount Strand south of the city forthe spectacular fireworks that marked the historic event.

On Saturday afternoon, the 25 national flags of the enlarged EUare scheduled to be unfurled at a ceremony in Dublin.

Germany celebrates EU enlargement

Several German cities and towns held rallies on April 30 night to celebrate the formal accession of east European countries into European Union (EU).

Near the city of Frankfurt, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and his Polish counterpart Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz shook hands at the bridge across the Oder river, which is the border between the two countries, to mark the beginning of the EU enlargement.

"This is an historic moment when our two countries, foes so many times over so many centuries, can join hands in joyous friendship at long last," Fischer said.

Fireworks soared overhead as the two foreign ministers shook hands and embraced each other to the cheers of large crowds on both sides of the river.

In Zittau, a town on the borders with Poland and the Czech Republic, thousands turned out for a festive rally which is the first of a series of celebrations over the weekend.

Speaking at the rally, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl said that "Germany is politically the main beneficiary" of the united Europe as now "our land is surrounded by friends and partners."

"We never want again trenches in Europe," said Kohl. "This is the original and most important reason for the political unification of Europe."

On Saturday, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, his Czech andPolish counterparts, Vladimir Spidla and Leszek Miller, will attend another celebration in Zittau before jointly flying to Dublin on a German airforce plane.

At Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, thousands of Berliners took part in an outdoor festival featuring entertainment and cuisine from the 10 new EU countries.

At midnight, fireworks were also fired in downtown Berlin, while the chorus at the city theater was singing the Ludwig van Beethoven 's "Ode to Joy".

Dublin's lights up for EU enlargement

As celebrations take place all over Europe to mark the biggest expansion in the history of the European Union, tens of thousands of people came to the Sandymount Strand south of Dublin late on April 30 for the spectacular fireworks marking the historic event.

The jubilant countdown to the EU's historic enlargement brings Cyprus, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia to live in one big family with the 15 existing members.

The display by the French pyrotechnics company Group F, whose previous works include the Eiffel Tower during the Millennium celebrations and the 1998 World Cup final, attracted people of allages and from different countries to the beach to cheer the enlargement.

"It is very exciting for us, it is a big opportunity for the new members to join the European Union," Vladka Vilimkova, a doctor working in Dublin, told Xinhua.

"Europe will be more stable, and we might have an easier life as we can now travel easier from one country to another (within the EU)," Vilimkova, who was of Czech origin, said with a smile.

"The enlargement has provided an important chance for the new members to integrate with the whole Europe, we will have a chance to feel more like Europeans," Vilimkova said as her two children gamboled at the simulated starfish rising to the sky to become bright reflections of the water jewels.

As the spectacular fireworks added colorful shades to the night,the mood was festive among the people. Most of them vision a bright future after this enlargement brings in countries of different cultures and religions.

"It is exciting, isn't it," Miran Kearns, a lab technician living in Dublin said when she enjoyed the event with her mother, who came to the beach in a wheelchair.

Asked if she was worried about a possible "immigration rush" toher country, Kearns said: "It is hard to tell. But Ireland would see highly educated people come here. It is a good thing."

"Although it might take 20 years for the new comers to catch upwith the existing members because they are behind, the new countries would have the same chance as Ireland has to develop quickly," Kevin Brady, an Irish designer for an advertising company said happily.

Gasping when the fireworks extravaganza light up the sky of Dublin and draw the eyes of the people across the water and towardthe new member states, Brady said he was looking forward to Saturday, when the Irish EU presidency launches a series of formaland cultural events for the Day of Welcomes, including a special flag raising ceremony that will draw together heads of state and government from the 25 member countries.

"It creates friendship and harmony and at last, all the nationshave come together as a wonderful community," said Brady amid endless ovation from the crowds who are excited by the gigantic wave of stardust, shimmering with the colors of "a new and bright union of peoples."