After more than a decade of transformation and catching-up to the present members of the EU the
applicant countries now comply with many of the political and economic requirements laid down
at the Copenhagen summit in 1993. Because of such a clear direction it is necessary and
advisable to take a close look at the chances and the risks of the enlargement for the old
member countries as well as for the new ones. This is the background of a collection of
articles published in this book. The papers cover a wide range of important aspects of the EU
eastern enlargement for instance trade effects country-specific as well as EU politics
regional transborder co-operation and monetary issues concerning a country's currency regime.
