The price of failure

A dear enlargement Failure to enlarge could entail large economic costs Nontheless EU states squabble over subsidies “Think small ”is not an appropriate political motto in times of momentous change. The Copenhagen summit in December 2002 is scheduled to finalize conditions for allowing the Union to absorb up to ten new member states from 1 January 2004. In spite of studies showing that all meber states will benefit economically from enlargement, bickering over the cost of enlargement continues between EU states, potentially jeopardizing the process. Estimates say the price of enlargement could be up to 44 billion euro in the first year alone. But no think tank or bank has calculated the actual price of failure. Studies indicate that the price of no enlargement could amount to a growth rate diminished by about 1%.