EU enlargement: towards an uncertain future

Abstract

Never before has the EU been expanded with so many countries at the same time (10), never before was the economic gap between the existing and acceding countries so large, and never before have the existing countries (EU Fifteen) been playing the role of mister Scrooge so convincingly, and never before was the enlargement in historical terms so impressive.

On the first of May citizens of 10 new countries will wake up to find themselves citizens of the European Union.