20 myths and facts about enlargement

After generations of division and war, the European Union is peacefully unifying Europe. From the six founding members, the EU has enlarged to 25 and soon 27 member states. Over the last fifteen years, the gravitational pull of the EU has helped transform Central and Eastern Europe from communist regimes to modern, well-functioning democracies. Recently, it has inspired tremendous reforms in Turkey, Croatia and the other Western Balkans countries. All Europeans benefit from having stable democracies and prosperous market economies as neighbours. A carefully managed enlargement process extends peace, democracy, the rule of law and prosperity across Europe. However, many EU citizens now question the grounds of enlargement. While addressing the citizens’ concerns with appropriate policies, myths should be countered by facts, which is the aim of this brochure.