The Eu And The Economies Of The Eastern European Enlargement

The enlargement of the European Union towards the East from May 2004 has generated an increase of about 100 million inhabitants in the EU population, and has especially brought along major challenges and important opportunities both for the "new" countries and for the "old" member states. That is the main focus of this volume, which is divided into three sections. The first analyses the effects of the enlargement on the functioning of Community institutions, on the relations with the other Eastern European countries, and finally on regional and global economic dynamics; the second section analyses in detail the role of the monetary politics of the European Central Bank and the activities of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; and the third deals with the importance of the entrepreneurial class in ensuring the success of the transition process of the Eastern European economies.

Successful eastward enlargement of the EU will be critical to ensuring stability and prosperity for post-Cold War Europe. But enlargement raises difficult issues for the EU and the applicant countries of central and eastern Europe. Is the EU capable of reforming its institutions and policies to cope with 25 or more members? Which central and east Europeans will join, and when? How can we ensure that enlargement brings the economic and security benefits expected of it?This comprehensive study examines in detail the political, economic and security implications of eastward enlargement for both East and West. The authors present new analyses of the policy issues including the EU budget and pre-accession strategy and of the economic integration likely before and after accession.Based on an extensive series of interviews with key ministers, diplomats, policy-makers, academics and journalists across Europe, this study also provides an informed overview of expectations and attitudes towards enlargement within the EU and in the applicant countries.

Learn more about the transitional economies of Central and Eastern Europe! This book examines the economic dynamics of Central and Eastern European post-Communist countries. It illuminates the paths these countries are taking toward restructuring their markets, increasing international trade, and bettering their connections with the European Union and other countries. Beginning with a comparative analysis of the three “P-governments”—Pigouvian, Partizan, and Paternalistic—and continuing with a discussion of the interrelated political and economic difficulties of transition, author Bruno Sergi proposes a surprising solution. Inspired by the Bruxelles consensus, he proposes that the European Commission should become a fourth “P-government,” replacing the role formerly played by the Washington consensus in the restructuring of post-Communist economies. Economic Dynamics in Transitional Economies also explores: regional comparative macroeconomics the aftereffects of the Washington Consensus integration of Eastern and Western European economies interrelations between national and regional monetary activity political and economic policy reform involvement of European Union member countries We are living in historic times, and Economic Dynamics in Transitional Economies will be a welcome guide to the rough roads ahead. This thorough assessment of current political and economic realities will stimulate debate about new European paradigms, the role of the European Union, and the difficulties of post-Communist transition. These issues promise to be vital to the region’s success in the new century.

The politico-economic relations between the European Union (EU) and Eastern Europe are currently entering a new phase, which some scholars qualify as a revival of the Cold War. This insightful book seeks to explain whether and why a Cold War Europe has returned and discusses underlying factors that clarify the relations between East and West since the Second World War.

This edited volume analyses how EU membership influenced the convergence process of member countries in the Baltics, Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. It also explores countries that are candidates for future EU membership. The speed of convergence of significant groups of low- and medium-income countries has never been as fast globally as it is today. Contributions by lead researchers of the area explore whether these countries are converging faster than their fundamentals and global trends would suggest because of EU membership, with its much tighter institutional and political anchorage

Europe's economic and political landscape is changing dramatically. The demise of the socialist CMEA and the USSR has allowed eastern European economies to open up and caused Russia/the CIS to engage in a series of difficult reforms which have been supported by the G-7 and the International Monetary Fund plus the World Bank on the one hand, and, on the other hand, by the EU and the EBRD. While some of the (early) Visegrad countries apparently were rather successful in their transition attempt, systemic transition approaches in other countries - Romania and Bulgaria - and, above all, in Russia largely were a failure. Economic hardship, social unrest, political radicalization and the international spreading of criminal activities can be identified as problems from the failure of Russia's first transition attempt. This book deals - from an international perspective - with the postsocialist countries in Europe, i. e. there is a focus on eastern enlargement and on Russia on the one hand, on the other hand the topic is which international influences and effects will emerge from EU enlargement and the Russian transition. While chapter A exclusively deals with major problems of eastern enlargement and the policy options for dealing with this difficult problem, chapter B is devoted to the Russian transformation crisis. There the analysis has a focus on Russia in its own right but also on the potential negative spillovers of a Russian transformation disaster which could occur in the late 1990s.

The Political Economy of Integration in the European Union has gained a well-deserved reputation as the key textbook in the area of European studies, economics and politics. This new and fully revised edition comprehensively surveys recent changes - such as the deepening and widening of European integration through eastward expansion and the Maastricht and Amsterdam Treaties - whilst continuing to offer a thorough overview of integration. The core material has been revised to ensure the best possible grounding in the political economy of the EU. Jeffrey Harrop presents an accessible account of European integration, including: * free trade, the customs union and the internal market * agriculture and fisheries * industrial and technological policies * regional and social problems and policies * monetary integration * fiscal policy: taxation and the EU budget * world-wide trading links * an in-depth discussion of EU enlargement, including the proposed integration of Central and East European countries * an assessment of energy, transport and environment policies * an overall view of the progress and possible future of the European Union. The book has been widely adopted for both specialist courses in economics as well as interdisciplinary courses in European studies. Teachers who are already using the book or who would like to consider it are invited to send for a 60-day examination copy of the third edition.

First published in 1998, this volume's approach is intended to be positive rather than normative and to identify criteria for evaluating which countries should join and the probable consequences of EU enlargement, along with the effects of temporary exclusion from the EU. It is a revised and enlarged version of a background paper first presented at the May 1997 meeting of the European University Institute Working Group on Eastern Enlargement, and published as a European University Institute working paper. Enlargement is widely considered to be the way to spread stability, prosperity and security eastward, and has been agreed to by the Union for that end. Susan Senior Nello is responsible for the economic content of this book, with Karen Smith heading the political and institutional aspects.