European Economy (EC): No. 1/2009 Five Years of an Enlarged Eu - Economic Achievements and Challenges

This publication series appears six times a year, and contains important reports and communications from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the economic situation and developments. In this report (ISBN 9789279112737), the Commission reviews EU enlargement in 2004/2007, concluding it was overall a success for the EU and its citizens. The EU added 12 new countries from central/eastern Europe and the Mediterranean in 2004 (Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) and then again in 2007 (Romania and Bulgaria). This was the biggest EU enlargement ever and a historic step towards unifying Europe after decades of Cold War division.