The implications of accession of central and eastern European countries to EU are manifold. Foreign direct investment, trade tariffs and the economies of the member-countries would face widespread ramifications.
Since
the fall of the Berlin Wall, a process of economic integration
has gradually unfolded between the EU and the acceding
countries, with the Europe accords the main achievement
thus far. These agreements, signed in the early 1990s,
provided for a step-by-step removal of mutual trade
barriers on industrial goods. By the end of 2002, nearly
all import tariffs between the candidate member-states
and the EU had disappeared.
There
remains a number of barriers, however, which will be
eliminated with the accession of the Central and East
European countries to the EU. Thus, some bilateral import
tariffs still apply in the agriculture and food and
drink sectors. And some acceding countries, such as
Poland, still impose restrictions on foreign ownership,
in the communication, insurance and utilities sectors,
for instance, and on property and land. Trade
tariffs on the external borders will also be equalized.
On average, the candidate member-states still impose
external tariffs on industrial goods of around 7%, compared
to less than 3% in the EU. The reverse tends to apply
for agricultural products, with the EU tariffs higher
than those in the candidate member-states.
Another
effect is that on accession the Central and Eastern
European countries will have to meet all the standards
and regulations which apply in the internal market.
As a result, the costs arising from customs formalities
and waiting times at borders will disappear. Even more
important is the removal of technical trade barriers
which exist due to differences in regulations and product
standards. This will reduce transaction costs in trade
and investment. |
