The Central and Eastern European Countries and the European Union

Based upon studies conducted by the European Forecasting Network, this book analyses key aspects of the impact of the recent EU enlargement with reference to eight of the ten new Member States, namely the Central and Eastern European countries. It examines themes such as regional policy, the macroeconomic trajectories of these economies to date and their likely future development and the debate about EMU accession. The book demonstrates that the enlargement could have profound consequences on both the new Member States and on the pre-accession members of the European Union.

The accession of ten new members to the European Union on May 1st 2004 was among the most significant developments in the history of European integration. Based upon studies conducted by the European Forecasting Network, this 2006 book analysed key aspects of the impact of this enlargement with reference to eight of the ten new Member States, namely the Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs). It demonstrated that the enlargement had the potential to create profound consequences for both the new Member States and the pre-accession members of the Union, given the unparalleled magnitude of the enlargement, the fact that the CEECs had levels of prosperity and economic development well below the Union average, and their history of participation in centrally planned regimes. The contributions examined regional policy, the debate about accession to the EMU, the macroeconomic trajectories of the Central and Eastern European economies and their likely development.

List of figures; List of tables; Notes on contributors; Acknowledgements; Introduction Michael Artis, Anindya Banerjee and Massimiliano Marcellino; 1. New member states: macroeconomic outlook and forecasts Emilio Rossi and Zbyszko Tabernacki; 2. The asymmetric impact of enlargement of old and new Member States: a general equilibrium approach Mohamed Hedi Bchir, Lionel Fontagné and Paolo Zanghieri; 3. Changes in the spatial distribution patterns of European regional activity: the enlargements of the mid-1980s and 2004 Toni Mora, Esther Vayá and Jordi Suriñach; 4. Forecasting macroeconomic variables for the new Member States Anindya Banerjee, Massimiliano Marcellino and Igor Masten; 5. The cyclical experience of the new Member States Michael Artis, Massimiliano Marcellino and Tommaso Proietti; 6. Demand and supply shocks in the new Member States Raúl Ramos and Jordi Suriñach; 7. Monetary transmission in the new Member States Raúl Ramos and Jordi Suriñach; 8. Promoting fiscal restraint in three Central European Member States Emilio Rossi and Zbyszko Tabernacki; 9. Current accounts dynamics in new Members State Paolo Zanghieri; 10. Challenges to banking sector stability in selected new Member States Charles Movit; 11. Infrastructure investments as a tool for regional development policy: lessons from the Spanish evidence Rosina Moreno, Enrique López-Bazo and Manuel Artis; 12. TFP, costs and public infrastructure: an equivocal relationship Eliana La Ferrara and Massimiliano Marcellino; 13. Regional policies after the EU enlargement Michele Boldrin; Index.

Key aspects of the impact of the enlargement of the EU are analysed with reference to the Central and Eastern European countries. This 2006 book demonstrates that the enlargement had profound consequences on both the new Member States and on the pre-accession members of the Union.