Journal Title:  ECONOMIA PUBBLICA

Author/s: Mojmir Mrak, Vasja Rant

Year: 2005 Issue: 4 Language: IT
Pages: 20 Fulltext PDF:940 KB

The paper discusses key policy issues faced by new member States as they prepare for the next financial perspective, which is expected to address key challenges of the European Union growth and convergence. While expenditure of the EU budget over the 2007-2013 period can only be a partial solution to economic problems faced by member states, it will nonetheless be an important resource for new member states and can help them to accelerate their path of convergence, if used wisely. In order for EU funds to have a significant and positive impact, new member States must overcome absorption problems on macroeconomic, financial and administrative/institutional levels. In the paper we argue that the final outcome in terms of growth and fiscal equilibrium in new member States in the period of the next financial perspective will depend on the objective they choose (real vs nominal convergence) and their ability to resolve absorption related problems, particularly problems with financial and administrative absorption.