This paper analyses the European budget and the position of the ten new member states. We argue that the EU budget … that the current EU budget setting is, at best, neutral with respect to the EU-wide long-term growth potential and may … actually hamper growth in the majority of the EU countries if the distortionary nature of taxation is taken into account …

EU's total population; and even though their economic output is much lower, it rises dynamically. New members' impact on … the EU policies has nevertheless been limited. This is due not only to the arcane voting rules within the EU, but also to … together and that their influence is thus fairly limited. We argue that as the EU seemingly lacks energy to implement further …

early 2000's both in quot;oldquot; and quot;newquot; EU member states. We estimate effects of labour market institutions on …;oldquot; and quot;newquot; EU members …

income shock in the EU, compared to 32 per cent in the US. In the case of an unemployment shock 48 per cent of the shock are … absorbed in the EU, compared to 34 per cent in the US. This cushioning of disposable income leads to a demand stabilization of … 26 to 35 per cent in the EU and 19 per cent in the US. There is large heterogeneity within the EU. Automatic stabilizers …