Where are the Limits to the Enlargement of the European Union?

Protection of the Single Market, monetary integration, institutional and policy reform, as well as enlargement are hot topics in the European Union. This article considers only the economic dimension of the enlargement. Five countries with economies in transition (the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia), and one market economy (Cyprus) negotiate full membership with the European Union. Although there are general grounds for the enlargement of the European Union, the process will be much slower than expected by the politicians in both the European Union and the acceding countries. The reasons for such conclusion include high standards that come from the ever growing acquis communautaire which are costly to introduce, implement and enforce. (JEL Classification: F15)