Economic Growth and Convergence of the Enlarged European Union

Economic growth and economic level belong among the most monitored economic figures as they give evidence of the level of both the economic activity and performance of a country as well as of the level of the economic development at which a given state or region finds itself. Within the EU environment as well as in the individual Member States, the issue of economic growth belongs among fiercely discussed topics. The economic growth of the European Union in the last decade was lagging behind most other centres of the world economy. This, however, does not mean that all the EU countries were characterised by a weak growth performance. This paper focuses on the evaluation of the trends and main factors of the economic growth and the processes of real convergence of the EU Member base in the last decade. This paper should also provide answers on which way the recently implemented Eastern enlargement and the world economic crisis influenced the economic dynamics of the old and new Member countries.