ABSTRACT
TheMember States ofCentral andEasternEurope (CEE) have been subjected to particular
scrutiny, reflecting policy-maker concern about their ability to spendStructural andCohesion
Funds. In the run-up toEUenlargement in 2004, commentators questioned the administrative
capacity of theCEE accession countries tomanage EU funding (Bollen et al., 2000;Kalman,
2002; Hughes et al., 2004; Sˇumpı´kova´ et al., 2004). Adoption of the EU’s “acquis commu-
nautaire” required wide-ranging reforms of economic, political and social structures,
especially public administration, but many reforms were slow and incomplete (SIGMA,
1998; Bossaert et al., 2001; Bossaert & Demmke, 2003; Demmke et al., 2006).
