This conference volume discusses the pros and cons of early integration into the European Union of Eastern transition countries, given the information available at the turn of the century. The questions posed refer to the structural gap between accession countries (ACs) and the EU, the optimal...

After completion of the internal market and the introduction of the euro, the European Union put Eastern enlargement on the agenda for the new millennium. When the enlargement process was started in 1997, it was aiming at the stability and prosperity for the entire European continent. The...