Hannes Hofbauer: Osterweiterung. Vom Drang nach Osten zur peripheren EU-Integration. Wien, Promedia Verlag 2003

It is increasingly evident that in the foreseeable future, the EU is not willing to provide its candidate countries the same economic and social rights, which the current members enjoy. Assessing this and drawing the conclusions is the starting point for a more realistic picture of Europe.

According to this critical analysis, the EU has reached a point with its compromises and its pressure on the candidate countries, where the unchanged continuation of the present policies would endanger the results of the ongoing integration and push the process into a deadlock. Hungarian economic policy also cannot be shaped without taking this fact into consideration.

The so far biggest socialist experiment has failed, but the challenge that created it is still valid and relevant. What is more, in the age of new capitalism, the "temptation" to reflect on the social problems bearing this challenge has become stronger than ever.

Our author comments on the earlier reviews of András Mink and Tamás Szegvári.