Ten countries in Central and Eastern Europe and in the Mediterranean will join the EU on 1st May 2004. These countries together, with 75 million people, comprise a population of about one fifth of that in the present EU. The economic weight of the new Member States, however, will be lower.
Their total GDP represents, at market exchange rates, around 5% of that of the current EU. The task at hand for the new Member States is to advance real convergence, while locking in inflation at low levels, preserving the soundness of the financial sector and making determined efforts towards fiscal consolidation are all of the utmost importance.