The Fifth Enlargement that took place in 2004 and 2007 was a milestone in the history of the European Union. Not only because of the large number of acceding countries but also because of their recent political and economic experience. Ten of them had undergone a profound transition from a totalitarian regime to democracy, and from a centrally planned economy to a market-based system. Most of them had income levels signi?cantly below those of the then EU-15. Now, 6 years later, we can clearly see that the process of European integration, both before and after 2004, was what enabled Europe to...