When does trade become a one-way relationship? We study bilateral trade balances for a sample of 18 European countries over the period from 1948 through 2008. We find that, with the introduction of the euro, trade imbalances among euro area members widened considerably, even after allowing for...

The original EU Service Directive proposal met widespread opposition and was subsequently narrowed down. Some believed that the competition from the New Member States would endanger the situation of the “old” EU service providers. We assess the importance of the Service Directive for Poland...