The European Union and Central and Eastern European countries

Book abstract:

The imminent accession of ten countries to the European Union presents the EU with probably its greatest challenge to date. It is not only a cultural challenge but also a huge economic challenge, as the former communist bloc countries begin to embrace a free market economy rather than the centrally planned command economy of their Communist past. The pre-accession negotiations centre around the 'acquis communautaire', the gigantic body of EU law and the ability of the candidate countries to implement it.

This book presents a collection of lectures which address the more sensitive areas of the negotiation process. The authors are renowned scholars in the fields of law, economics, or political science. The topics range over the ever sensitive CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) and the increasingly important issue of migration and labour, with contributions also on the legal aspects of the free movement of persons and the internal market and the commercial policy. The president of the European Investment Bank addresses capital account liberalisation and EMU membership, and the Executive Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development examines the transition process for the financial institutions and markets in the candidate countries. There are papers on the Polish banking system whose legal system has already adopted many of the EU legal provisions, and on the adoption of the Euro in the new Member States.

The book will interest scholars, students and policy researchers engaged in the fields of European Studies and European enlargement.