Commission: Enlargement has proved its economic worth

From an economic point of view, the EU's 2004 enlargement has been a "clear success" for the new and the old
member states alike, states a report adopted by the Commission on 3 May.
Brief News:
In a summary assessment, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said that "many doomsday scenarios preceded the
eastern enlargement, none of which has materialised." Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia added that
"enlargement is helping the EU cope better with the new world economic order." At the same time, both officials
underlined that the report covered the EU's 2004 enlargement round, and its conclusions do not apply directly to any
future enlargement.
However, Dr. Bahadir Kaleagasi of TUSIAD, the Turkish Industrialists’ & Business Association, commented: "We
predict that the EU’s enlargement to Turkey will also be demonstrated to be a positive development moment. Since
October 4, date of the formal opening of talks, Turkey has seen FDI grow to 8 billion euro in 2005. Turkey is the
fastest and largest emerging market in and around Europe." 
The Commission's report sums up the conclusions of the EU-10 states' preparation for membership and it also
examines the macroeconomic performance and outcomes in the EU-25 since the pre-accession period. There are
specific chapters devoted to the trade, taxation, migration, general financial and social cohesion aspects of
enlargement.
Among other findings, the report states that:
 the EU-10 states registered an average 3.75% economic growth rate between 1997 and 2005 (the respective EU-
15 figure was 2.5%)
 the average EU-10 unemployment rate is 13.4% (7.9% in EU-15)
 foreign direct investment in the EU-10 totalled 191 billion euro in 2004 (which represented 4% of the EU-25's
overall investment stock).