Bigger and better?

Twenty-three percent more land mass and 75 million additional citizens - these are the figures.But what will the next round of enlargement actually mean for the existing EU member states and, more importantly, for those nations, largely from Central and Eastern Europe, who in 2004 will become fully fledged members of the EU community?

The challenges of this round, in which the EU will open its political and financial arms to 13 more countries, 10 from Central and Eastern Europe, are without parallel in scope and diversity, and as such are an unknown entity.