The logistical impact of EU enlargement the case of the Baltic States

Abstract

The paper deals with the logistical impacts that EU enlargement has brought about, using the development in the Baltic States and the Nordic context as an example. On 1, May 2004 10 new countries joined the European Union (EU), increasing EU's population by 17%. Subsequently, EU's Gross Domestic Product grew 8% at Purchasing Power Parity basis but only 4% at market rates. Looking from the macro economic perspective, the 'old' EU 15 had no difficulty absorbing the 'new' EU 10. The overall conclusions are as follows: first, accession had a significant impact on day-to-day trade practices of the new Member States, especially in intra-EU trade. Second, EU membership did not dramatically change the new Members' trade or Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) patterns. This is because the acceding countries had rapidly integrated to the world economy already during the preceding years. Third, very few problems with trade and border crossing practices in intra-EU trade were reported in Estonia, Lithuania, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovenia after May 1, 2004. New Member States need to implement a way to monitor their logistics environment and firms' logistics efficiency on a regular basis. A periodically conducted survey would serve as a valuable source of information for identifying needs for further improvement.