New citizens, old borders. Why Europe has not put out the welcome mat for its new members

One of a series of articles in this issue of Finance and Development under the theme 'Europe's conundrum', which focus on the economic challenges facing the European Union following the accession of 10 new members on May 1, 2004.

Reacting to concerns that citizens from the European Union's 10 new member countries could overwhelm their welfare systems, the established members separately established rules to tighten migration or impose other restrictions on the 10. The author says this strategy will hurt growth in the EU as a whole without solving the welfare problem. He proposes that the EU adopt a common, and generous, transitional quota for migration while reforming the welfare system to ensure its future viability

• Primary Source

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2004/06/index.htm http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2004/06/index.htm

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