This wisdom seems to be very obvious for citizens of the new Member States, given their rich and fascinating history, especially in the recent decades when rapid political, economic and social changes have been taking place.
As recently as at the end of the 1980s – many countries in Central and Eastern Europe were still behind the iron curtain, with little political and economic freedom. Today, they are members of the European Union with established democracies and functioning market economies. In some years they are expected to become members of Economic and Monetary Union.