Two years after the accession of ten Eastern and Middle European Countries, Ecologic assesses in this project the implications of this last accession round. The project, commissioned by the Member of the European Parliament Giesela Kallenbach (Leipzig), raises the question whether this enlargement round was a success or not.

Since the last accessions, enthusiasm for enlargement has vanished. Opinion polls indicate enlargement fatigue. The EU struggles with a lack of support from the European public, particularly after the referenda in France and the Netherlands on the European Constitution. Against such a backdrop, this project surveys the political, economic and social situation in the EU two years after accession, and raises the question whether enlargement is a success story or not.

The project report [pdf, 198 KB, English] concludes that enlargement is one of the great successes of the Union.