EU enlargement

On May 1st, 2004, the European Union welcomed 10 new countries to its ranks: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. With the accession of these new members—the biggest ever enlargement of the EU, in terms of scope and diversity—the Union became the world's biggest trading bloc, with 74 million new citizens, taking the total population to 455 million in 25 nation states. Needless to say, the accession of these 10 new countries to the EU is going to have an enormous impact on virtually every area of EU life, and it raises many questions for the EU business community. Businesses intent on entering the newly-expanded EU markets will probably need help—learning the local business rules and regulations; navigating the complexities of market regulation and investor protections, capital market openness, and transaction costs; and dealing with broader financial factors such as transparency, political stability, and labor practices and standards. They—you—need to know how to network with the market’s key players so that you can be accepted as an important participants in the newly-expanded EU market community. The question is: do you have a reliable “partner” who can guide you through the intricacies of the new EU reality?

If this is your situation:

• You are a multinational company whose EU subsidiaries must now comply with evolving EU laws on tax, pensions, business practices, human resources, labor unions, and expatriate workers. You need help
• You must analyse your pan-EU operations, identify potential risks, and decide whether your company can take advantage of the opportunities arising from the newly-expanded community.
• You must find a way to adapt to both existing EU business models, and those that expansion will inevitably surface.
• You must now find a way to face the threat of increased competition, overregulation (especially in certain areas, such as environmental protection, agricultural policy, industrial standards, etc.) and the uncertainties attendant on joining the new market.
• You would like to know how to take advantage of the removal of customs and trade barriers and adoption of EU Customs Tariffs in the newly-expanded EU.
• You are not prepared for the increased reporting and compliance requirements that doing business in the expanded EU will require and need advice on how to best negotiate the additional administrative barriers.
• You must now make important changes to your IT and accounting systems in order to comply with new EU rules and new invoicing requirements.
• You know that post-accession amendments to competition law, consumer protection legislation, environmental law, social security and labour law will directly affect your company; you need help reviewing your existing structures and contracts and plan for required changes.