EU Enlargement: Price to Be Paid by the Current Community Countries Was Calculated

Currently, nine states are official candidates for EU accession. These are Albania, Bosnia, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. Analytical center Bruegel has calculated how the bloc’s budget could change if these countries join the European Union, euronews.com reported. One of the most significant changes will affect the financing of the EU’s less developed regions; they must catch up with the richer ones. If the nine candidates join the EU, the current least developed regions will no longer have this status. They will be reclassified as “transition regions”. This means that they will receive less funding. Italy and Spain will experience the biggest funding cuts. Each will lose about 9 billion euros. Portugal will lose 4 billion. Hungary and Romania will lose 2 billion each. In general, the potential enlargement of the European Community to 36 states would increase the overall EU budget. Bruegel’s analysis also takes into account changes in other parts of the budget, such as the Common Agricultural Policy, Neighborhood Policy and Public Administration. The EU is expected to review its budget rules ahead of potential enlargement and introduce a transition period before new members can access funds. Are there benefits of enlargement for existing EU members? If the number of EU members increases to 36, the net cost of enlargement for the former 27 members would be around €26 billion a year. On the other hand, the Bruegel think tank stresses that a larger EU market would be an economic boost for existing members, especially in terms of exports and foreign direct investment. “Foreign direct investment flows from Western countries to Central and Eastern European countries that joined the EU between 2004 and 2013 have proved lucrative, and this trend can be expected to continue with the nine new members,” the Bruegel Centre notes. In addition, new member states can bring additional labor to EU countries that are experiencing labor shortages.