Return to Europe
Return to Europe
This chapter traces the initial gap between the current and the new member states. It tries to establish to what degree various domestic reforms undertaken by individual post-communist countries have succeeded in rendering them more compatible with the former EU-15. It argues that the overall success of the reform process is beyond doubt in all eight countries that joined the Union in 2004, and even in the so-called “pre-ins”: Romania and Bulgaria. However, although new members have made considerable progress in securing peace and building democracy and free markets, their progress is uneven across individual fields and countries, thus increasing diversity within the EU as a consequence of enlargement.
Keywords: European Union, European enlargement, member states, domestic reform, development gaps
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