27/01/17
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The Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia joined the EU in 2004. Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2007. A recent European Commission report compares their economic performance with that of the 12 countries that formed the euro area in 2004: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Greece, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands.
Convergence was greatest mostly in the countries that joined the EU with the lowest income levels. Central and Eastern European EU Member States (CEE10) real GDP growth rates have weakened considerably since the crisis and a substantial income gap remains to the initial twelve euro-area members.
The investment boom which helped to feed the rapid pace of economic convergence before the crisis has since dissipated.
Nevertheless, the openness to trade of the CEE10 increased considerably between 2004 and 2014 and they appear generally well-integrated with the euro area.
Source: Economic convergence of Central and Eastern European Member States 2004 - 2014
Economic convergence of Central and Eastern European Member States 2004 - 2014
Economies of the Member States
Stability and Convergence Programmes
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