Eastern Europe – Out of the frying pan, into the fire

EU membership has its down-side. As eastern Europe seeks to join up, its raw capitalism could be stifled by all the rules and regulations. Recovering from years of central planning the last thing these economies need is dirigisme and subsidies, Brussels-style. But that’s what they are about to get. Although it has failed to reform itself, the EU insists that new entrants implement all its 80,000 pages of directives. Some candidates are so enthusiastic they also want to adopt the euro. Economists warn that these ambitions could cost them dearly, killing off enterprise and making economic management difficult if not impossible.