Published on February 22, 2009

EU, the largest integrated economic area in the world

The enlarged EU is the largest integrated economic area in the world, accounting for more than 30% of world GDP and more than 17% of world trade.

This enables the EU to be a decisive player in a global world.

Income per capita in new Member States has risen from 40% of the old Member States' average in 1999 to 52% in 2008 and growth averaged 5.5% from 2004-2008 compared to 3.5 % in 1999-2003.

But this has not been at the expense of old Member States, whose growth was around 2.2% annually from 2004-2008, with a similar figure for 1999-2003.

Enlargement also increased trade opportunities. In 2007, almost 80% of exports of the new Member States went to the rest of the EU.
Old Member States also saw their sales to the new members increase to around 7.5% of their total exports in 2007, from 4 ¾ % a decade ago.

Unemployment in new Member States has declined from often very high levels to levels similar to those in the rest of the EU – around 7% in 2007.

Concerns in old Member States about massive labour migration have not materialised. In most host Member States the number of migrant workers has not exceeded 1% of the "home" working age population and enabled labour shortages to be filled.

Temporariness has been a strong feature of most of this migration – in the UK 50% of recent migrants have returned to their countries of origin.

The current global crisis is creating difficulties for all countries, including in the EU, and unemployment is rising everywhere.

But a big, united EU is better able to address this and other challenges than if its member states act alone.
The EU has taken coordinated action to stabilise the banking system and to help the economic recovery.
These measures, completed by others under preparation, more importantly to restore the crucial credit channel to the economy, allow us to envisage a gradual recovery from the end of this year.