1996 Reports

EU Membership for Central Europe: Commitments, Speed, and Conditionality

Crombrugghe, Alain de; Minton-Beddoes, Zanny; Sachs, Jeffrey D.

This paper gives a motivation and a method for a fast integration of the reforming countries of central Europe into the European Union. The motivation is based on the idea of self-fulfilling prophecies where the expectation of the entry can trigger the coordination of expectations towards a fast-growth, catch-up equilibrium, and help central Europe avoid the stagnation equilibrium. The method is a target data which enhances the credibility of the integration and a set of conditions and modalities which stimulates the reforms in the applicant countries and ensures that they will contribute to its development.