As a consequence we now have inside the European Union a totally new situation in which for the first time in centuries, in Europe, one generation has been able to accumulate wealth and transfer it to the next generation, so creating a very strong sentiment of support in most countries of the continent and a quest for yet more progress in this sense which is still present in the agenda that Europe is pursuing right now.
Of course the question could be asked whether this equilibrium of power can still be maintained in an enlarged Union, since the Union at the outset was not designed for such a large number of countries, and especially since many of the new countries belong to the category of small Member States.