Policy Documentation Center

Emerson, Michael

Trade policy issues in the Wider Europe \u2013 that led to war and not yet to peace

Kacprzyk, Artur

Deterring Russia after Ukraine: CEE divided on the future of NATO Policy

Nic, Milan et al.

Slovakia in the EU: An unexpected success story?

Presser, Simon

NATO and Russia Geopolitical Competition or Pragmatic Partnership

Study Report on Criminal Offences of Corruption and Other Forms of Abuse of Office, 2014

Primordial resistance to liberal values

The Russian connection: the spread of pro-Russian policies on the European far right

Chraska, Filip

 The International Conference “Enlargement Ten Years on: New Europe’s Contribution to Single 
Market” was held in Prague, Czech Republic on February 27, 2014. The conference was supported by 
the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. 
 
© 2014 Association for International Affairs. All rights reserved. Views expressed in the paper are not 
necessarily the official attitude of publisher. 
Enlargement Ten Years On: New 
Europe’s Contribution to Single 
Market 
– 
 
Filip Chráska 
 
March 2014
Conference Report 1/2014 
 
Enlargement Ten Years On: New Europe’s Contribution to Single 
Market 
– 
March 2014 
  2 
Conference Report 1/2014 
 
Enlargement Ten Years On: New Europe’s Contribution to Single 
Market 
– 
March 2014 
Enlargement Ten Years On: New Europe’s Contribution to Single Market, the conference 
dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the Eastern Enlargement, took place on February 27, 
2014 in the premises of the CERGE-EI in Prague. It was organized by the Association for 
International Affairs (AMO) and consisted of two panel discussions that aimed to assess the 
ten years of participation of the Central and Eastern European countries in the Single Market 
as well as the challenges that have come along with the enlargement. 
 
The program was launched with opening remarks delivered by Vít Dostál, Director of the 
Research Center of the AMO, and by Borek Severa, Project Director at the Friedrich 
Naumann Foundation for Freedom. Dostál stressed the importance of the Single Market as 
both the major incentive behind the European Integration, as well as the reason for its 
success. Severa greeted the conference and hailed it as an important contribution to the 
public discussion on EU issues in the Czech Republic. 
 
The research paper Enlargement Ten Years on: New Europe’s Contribution to Single Market 
was introduced by Kryštof Kruliš, new research fellow of the AMO Research Center. 
The paper analyses the three most significant issues regarding the participation of the new 
member states in the Single Market. The first topic was the inflow of the Foreign Direct 
Investments into New Europe. On one hand, Kruliš advocates the membership of a country 
as a significant reducer of investment risk, but on the other hand points out the vulnerability 
raised by dependence on foreign capital. The second issue, which may be considered the 
most controversial, deals with the free movement of labor and the transitional periods 
imposed by most of the old member states. These temporary restrictions turned out to be a 
burden for the efficient reallocation of labor, which was only averted in countries that chose 
a more liberal approach, such as the UK, Ireland and Sweden. New member states have had 
to face different levels of brain drain and a certain rise of labor costs on the domestic markets 
particularly in the sectors distinctly effected by the emigration of young workers. The 
controversy of labor market restrictions was also reflected in the third area examined, which 
was the contribution of the new member states to the liberalization of the trade with 
services, which is considered in some of the old member states to be a back door for the free 
movement of workers. All the three areas are somewhat interconnected and form a base for 
comprehensive discussions. 
 
The two panel discussions were chaired by Daniel Stach and comprised eight distinguished 
guests from both old and new member states of the European Union. 
 
  3 
Conference Report 1/2014 
 
Enlargement Ten Years On: New Europe’s Contribution to Single 
Market 
– 
March 2014 
Panel #1: The Look Back: Central and Eastern European Member States 
on the Single Market  
 
Kryštof Kruliš, Research Fellow, Association for International Affairs (AMO), Prague  
Iliya Lingorski, Founder and Executive Chairman, Vrana Economic Council, Sofia  
Hans-Jürgen Zahorka, Former Member of European Parliament; Chief Editor, European 
Union Foreign Affairs Journal, Stuttgart  
Martin Zeil, Former Minister of Economic Affairs of Bavaria, The Free Democratic Party 
(FDP), Munich  
 
Discussants described the Single Market as a both cultural and economic success of the 
European Integration, underlining its contribution to European competitiveness and 
praising its compatibility with the European model of the social market economy. They also 
stressed its positive impact on the cooperation in science, advance in trans-European 
infrastructure and predictability for the private sector. The Single Market was in brief 
described as a stimulus for innovation in Europe and a great chance for facilitating its 
advancing digitalization, which is a key to Europe’s competitiveness in the 21st century. 
 
The first discussed of the Single Market’s problems was that of regulations and bureaucracy. 
In spite of being developed to deregulate the economic interaction among member states, the 
speakers agreed on the importance of eliminating red tape for doing business in the 
European Union. The European Commission often fails to respect the principle of 
subsidiarity and imposes regulations in wrong direction. As a major example given, speakers 
mentioned the distortive steps of European politicians in bailing out the banking sector 
during the financial crisis. 
 
Touching on the problems of the financial policies in the EU, the first recommendation 
suggested was the immediate creation and further strengthening of the Banking Union. 
According to the speakers, an international supervisor for the European financial sector 
would promote its transparency and efficiency and demonstrate lessons learned from the 
crisis of 2009. The chance for creation of a democratic authority that could effectively 
regulate the functioning of the Single Market was very likely missed with the rejection of the 
European Constitution. The discussants suggested holding referenda on changes of the 
primary law on a single day across Europe and also suggested further strengthening of the 
position of the European Parliament in the decision making processes.  
 
The labor market integration was perceived by the old member states as an opportunity, 
rather than a threat. The discussants found themselves agreeing that countries accepting 
workers from the new member states benefited from efficient reallocation of labor. They also 
mentioned the new division of Europe, which is transferring from the East-West gap to a 
growing North-South rift. 
  4 
Conference Report 1/2014 
 
Enlargement Ten Years On: New Europe’s Contribution to Single 
Market 
– 
March 2014 
 
The major obstacle for the functioning of the Single Market in New Europe is lack of 
knowledge about its benefits or even ignorance of its existence by the private sector. Even 
though awareness has been growing for the past decade, Central and Eastern Europe still 
haven’t learned how to fully profit from the economic integration. The panel concluded 
with a very positive appraisal of the EU Single Market which may set a good example for the 
rest of the world. Having several times mentioned the revolution in Ukraine, the future of the 
Single Market should be, according to the speakers, characterized by its openness to other 
potential members. 
 
Q & A Issues: 
 How to promote the opportunities of the Single Market to the public in New Europe? 
 What steps shall be taken to achieve further liberalization of trade in services 
 
 
Panel #2: Single Market in the Uncertain Times: Prospects and 
Expectations  
 
Anna Maria Darmanin, Chair of the Single Market Observatory, European Economic and 
Social Committee, Brussels  
Aleš Chmelař, Researcher, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Brussels  
Atilla Marján, European Research Director, Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, 
Budapest  
Zilvinas Silenas, President, Lithuanian Free Market Institute, Vilnius 
 
The second panel, dedicated to the particular challenges that the Single Market now faces, 
brought up different points of view on the future development of the European economy. 
According to the speakers, the EU currently finds itself at a certain step of recovering from 
the crisis. However, they disagreed on whether the right way for the future necessitates more 
central regulations or rather a somewhat stronger emphasis on the free market. 
 
The speakers appreciated the role of the Single Market during the crisis period. The 
increased movement of labor force and intensified trade with goods softened the impact on 
economic dynamic and employment in Europe. Nevertheless, the competitiveness of the 
European Economic Area in the global context is still at a standstill with new challenges, 
such as youth unemployment or the questionable sustainability of the concept of the welfare 
state. 
 
The discussants questioned the public opinion on the functioning of the Single Market, 
which many European citizens interchange with the problem of the Eurozone crisis. In fact, 
the facilitation of economic interactivity inside of the Single Market optimizes the economic 
  5 
Conference Report 1/2014 
 
Enlargement Ten Years On: New Europe’s Contribution to Single 
Market 
– 
March 2014 
realities of the common currency area. The real issues affecting the daily life of European 
citizens and businesses are based on the unfinished areas of the Single Market. Along with 
the first panel, the second one recommended increased cooperation in regulation of the 
financial sector. In addition, the need to discuss the common corporate tax rate was brought 
up as well. 
 
The panelists disagreed most in the discussion on the liberalization in trade with services, 
namely the regulation of prices in telecommunication sector. The European Union has 
already taken certain steps to limit the prices for roaming inside of the Single Market, 
which most of the discussants advocated as deepening of the economic integration and 
tackling the lack of competition on this particular market, which is crucial for transnational 
business. Nevertheless, differing opinions were raised on the distortion of the market by 
artificial intervention. 
 
The panelists also touched on a broad range of other challenges for the Single Market, such 
as the future of the energy market, mobility of knowledge, and intellectual property rights. 
Similarly to the first panel, discussants of the second panel expressed their concerns about 
the clash of political interest in the EU between the national and supranational levels. One of 
the particular suggestions mentioned was the reform of the electoral system to the 
European Parliament. Unified multinational ballots created by the EU political parties 
could encourage the MEPs to emancipate from the national political scenes and act in 
common interest of the Union, being accountable to all of its 500 million citizens. 
 
Q & A Issues: 
 What smart regulations increase market efficiency without distorting it? 
 How to increase the efficiency of the decision making about the Single Market policies? 
 
  6 
Conference Report 1/2014 
 
Enlargement Ten Years On: New Europe’s Contribution to Single 
Market 
– 
March 2014 
ASSOCIATION FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (AMO) 
Association for International Affairs (AMO) is a preeminent independent think-tank in the 
Czech Republic in the field of foreign policy. Since 1997, the mission of AMO has been to 
contribute to a deeper understanding of international affairs through a broad range of 
educational and research activities. Today, AMO represents a unique and transparent 
platform in which academics, business people, policy makers, diplomats, the media and 
NGO’s can interact in an open and impartial environment. 
 
In order to achieve its goals AMO strives to: 
 formulate and publish briefings, research and policy papers; 
 arrange international conferences, expert seminars, roundtables, public debates; 
 organize educational projects; 
 present critical assessment and comments on current events for local and 
international press; 
 create vital conditions for growth of a new expert generation; 
 support the interest in international relations among broad public; 
 cooperate with like-minded local and international institutions. 
 
RESEARCH CENTER 
Founded in October 2003, the AMO‘s Research Center has been dedicated to pursuing 
research and raising public awareness of international affairs, security and foreign policy. 
The Research Center strives to identify and analyze issues crucial to Czech foreign policy 
and the country‘s position in the world. To this end, the Research Center produces 
independent analyses; encourages expert and public debate on international affairs; and 
suggests solutions to tackle problems in today‘s world. The Center‘s activities can be divided 
into two main areas: first, it undertakes research and analysis of foreign policy issues and 
comments on AMO blog; and second, it fosters dialogue with the policy-makers, expert 
community, and broad public. 
 
FOLLOW US! 
 
      
 
 


Enlargement Ten Years On New Europe\u2019s Contribution to Single Market

Macarie, Iulius-Cezar

Half-in, Half-out: Roma and Non-Roma Romanians with Limited Rights Working and Travelling in the European Union

P. Jankowski, Dominik

Grzegrzolka, Malgorzata

Toward an Effective Minilateralism: The Polish Experience in the Visegrad Group after 2004