ABSTRACT
Each year the European Commission’s Directorate General for Employment and Social Affairs issues a publication that describes the social situation in the European Union (EU) and, among other things, provides a prospective view of population trends across the European Union that indicates challenges and opportunities for economic and social welfare. On 1 May 2004 a very significant enlargement of the EU took place; this chapter focuses on the impact on EU social conditions of the expansion of the European Union’s borders to include ten new member states: the diversification of social conditions, the increased number of policy challenges and, to help member states address these challenges, the greater opportunities for economic growth within an enlarged EU.
