Pension policies after EU enlargement: Between financial market integration and sustainability of public finances

On May 1st, 2004, the European Union (EU) carried out the most comprehensive enlargement since its establishment in 1957 with the accession of eight Central- and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) as well as Malta and Cyprus. Within this enlarged EU two major political aims were set up, namely the integration of financial markets on the one hand and the sustainability of public finances as well as of pension systems on the other hand. With the example of the recently accessed countries, this paper links these two objectives and raises the question, whether central EU authorities attempt to push for (further) pension privatisation in the new Member States of the enlarged EU in order to promote a single, globally competitive financial market. This paper gives no definite empirical evidence for this link. However, the emerging tendencies in this area call for further research.