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Updated: May 31, 2025
But even a much-debated phase-in period of 10 years would burden the EU's budget and the patience of its member states and denizens to an acrimonious breaking point. The countries of central and eastern Europe are new consumption and investment markets. They are likely to while the next few decades on a steep growth curve, catching up with the West.
As the endgame nears, the parties to the negotiations are posturing, though. EU enlargement commissioner, Gunter Verheugen, argued a fortnight ago against equalizing support for Poland's 6 million farmers with the subsidies given to the EU's 8 million smallholders. In a typical feat of incongruity he said it will prevent them from modernizing and alienate other professions.
Almost two thirds of respondents in surveys conducted by the EU in Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia and Lithuania are undecided about EU membership or opposed to it altogether. The situation in the Czech Republic is not much improved. Only Hungary stalwartly supports the EU's eastern tilt.
Switching Empires By: Dr. Sam Vaknin Eight of the fortunate acceders are former communist countries: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. Bulgaria and Romania are tentatively slated to join in 2007. The exercise will cost in excess of $40 billion over the next three years. The EU's population will grow by 75 million souls.
This followed a similar, though much milder, earlier statement by eight other European nations, including Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland, the EU's prospective members in central Europe.
Scares like the mishandled mad cow disease dented consumer confidence in both politicians and bureaucrats. The CAP guzzles close to half of the EU's $98 billion budget.
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