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Ten new countries, eight from the former Soviet bloc, became part of the European Union on 1 May 2004, the biggest expansion in the alliance's 47-year history.
The implications and repercussions of the EU expansion, to a large degree, depend on where you sit. For citizens of the 10 new European countries, including the three Baltic States, the political, social and economic benefits are much more pronounced and much more immediate. But whether you are in Washington, London, Riga, Kyiv or Moscow, the growth of the EU is a watershed event.
Europe is now a union of 25 countries with total economic output almost equivalent to the United States. The new members -- Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia -- add 75 million people to the EU, bringing the total population up to 450 million. Common norms and regulations, open and free borders and shared security objectives make the new EU an even more formidable economic and political force around the world than before.
The PBN Company's Managing Directors from our five global offices analyze the impact of EU expansion from each of their unique points of view -- from the Baltics, Europe, U.S., Russia and from the states that now become the EU eastern border, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova.
New opportunities for investing in the Baltics, now that these countries are part of the EU, will also be the topic of a half-day seminar being sponsored by The PBN Company. "Investing In The Baltics: Opportunities and Practicalities Post-Accession" will be held in London on 10 June 2004 and is being organized by the Finnish-British Chamber of Commerce as well as in conjunction with the chambers of commerce and embassies of the various Baltic States. PBN's own Romans Baumanis, our Baltics Managing Director, will be one of the featured speakers.
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