2004-2014: Review of a decade of enlargements

After the enlargements of 2004, 2007 and 2013 the number of EU Member States has almost doubled and a convergence process commenced, that was briefly halted by the 2008 crisis. To continue the economies of Central Europe will have to move beyond a price-competitiveness based development model. The cohesion policy is a precious tool but is not a guarantee for successful modernisation in itself as the vulnerability shown by the states of southern Europe to the crisis has illustrated, although they were the main beneficiaries. The rise of certain populist movements also illustrates the political and social challenges which remain in spite of a successful democratic transition. To these challenges we might add the difficulty the states of south-east Europe are experiencing in becoming European and a partnership that has invented anew with the EU's eastern neighbours.

This paper focuses on Central Europe and as a result does not take either Malta or Cyprus into account.

ESO: Background information: CEE: Fit for the next decade in the EU http://www.europeansources.info/record/cee-fit-for-the-next-decade-in-the-eu/

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