Eurozone enlargement

This final report of the research project „Ezoneplus - The Eastward Enlargement of the Eurozone“ provides a comprehensive analysis of economic and financial consequences of European Monetary Union (EMU) enlargement as well as policy advice. The study concludes that the Central and East European Countries (CEEC) may take decades to catch up economically with their western neighbours unless adequate assistance from the old member countries is being provided. Thus, the success of enlargement depends both on the speed of the process and on the procedure how to implement the right political and economic mechanisms towards sustainable self-financed growth. The research consortium, supported by the EU's 5th Framework Programme, consists of the Freie Universität Berlin (Germany), University of Tartu (Estonia), VATT Institute (Finland), University of Bologna (Italy), Warsaw School of Economics (Poland), University of Évora (Portugal) and the IER Institute (Slovenia).