A much-worked piece of economic wisdom says: “If the United States sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold”. This implies that even a slight economic setback in the US has distinctly negative fallout on business elsewhere. Of late correlation between the business cycles in the USA and the euro area has been lower than was the case in the past. What are the causes? Will this trend continue?

May 1, 2004 by no means spelt the end of the EU enlargement process. The EU is set to grow further. In political and social terms this is certainly to be welcomed, as the Union contributes to more peace, stability and prosperity in Europe. However, the question arises whether a growing Union will also remain affordable in the long term.

In the debate about Turkey’s entry into the EU foreign policy considerations are usually in the foreground, but the economic consequences for the EU are also significant. Assuming Turkey is granted similar accession terms as the eastern European countries, the cost of Turkish accession would exceed those of the current enlargement round.