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1 1 (January 17, 2006)

handle is hein.crs/crsaioo0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS21875 Updated January 17, 2006 CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web EU Enlargement: Economic Implications for the United States William H. Cooper Specialist in International Trade and Finance Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Summary The United States strongly supported the formation of the European Economic Community in the 1950s and has supported its subsequent expansions and evolution into what is now the European Union (EU). Likewise, the United States, under both the Clinton and Bush Administrations, welcomed the latest, and largest expansion of the EU - the addition of 10 new members effective May 1, 2004, viewing it as helping to promote stability and prosperity throughout the continent. The enlargement of the EU will change U.S. economic ties with the EU with the 10 new members. This report examines the changes and their potential economic impact on the United States. Many Members of Congress have been monitoring the potential effects of enlargement on the U.S. economy, particularly agriculture, and they will likely continue to do so during the second session of the 109th Congress. This report will be updated as events warrant. Scope of EU Enlargement On May 1, 2004, after several years of negotiations, the European Union (EU) completed the largest expansion of its membership since its inception as the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952. It added 10 countries bringing its total membership to 25.1 The enlargement increases the total EU population from about 380 million to roughly 450 million people. Perhaps more significant than the size of the new membership is its composition. Eight of the 10 new members are former communist states and three of the eight (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) were part of the former Soviet Union. The eight former communist states have been successfully making the transition from centrally-planned economic 1 The 10 new members are Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. They join Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. For more background on the negotiations and political implications of the enlargement, see CRS Report RS21344, European Union Enlargement, by Kristin Archick. Congressional Research Service +. The Library of Congress

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