There can be no doubt that this is largely the result of vast foreign investment in these countries. The adoption of European rules may, however, impair the competitiveness of, for instance, the agricultural and industrial industries. In its latest evaluation, of November 2001, the Commission concluded that all accession countries except Rumania and Bulgaria have a functioning market economy.
Of these countries, the Baltic states, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic are considered capable of holding their own within the single market, provided they continue to reform. Malta and Cyprus already fully meet the economic criterion.