Not only percentages” “” “

According to data collected by Eurostat, Eurobarometer and the World Health Organization, 79% of the inhabitants of the Fifteen say they are satisfied with their own life, while only 61% of the ten new member states of the EU say the same. 54% of the inhabitants of the Fifteen affirm, moreover, that they are satisfied with the degree of democracy reached in their own country: this percentage sinks to 29% in the ten new accession countries. Yet it is the citizens of the Ten that have greatest trust in the Union, with 43% (against 42% in the Fifteen). 77% of the inhabitants of the new member countries say they are proud “of being European” (the percentage sinks to 61% among the Fifteen). The replies show that the road to European unity still has a long way to go. The enlargement of 1st May was only one important stage which must be followed up by others. We have tried to “give some numbers” (source: Europa.eu.int – news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe) to describe the new Europe. An ageing continent. With its 455 million inhabitants, the 25-member Europe comprises 7,3% of the world’s population, the third largest demographic area in the world after China and India. However it is a continent that is growing old: the population below the age of 15 represents only 16.8% of the total. RicH AND POOR. Disparities between rich and poor are growing in the Europe of the Twenty-Five: the richest region is that of London with per capita GDP equivalent to 260% of the average for the Fifteen. Brussels, Luxembourg, Hamburg and the Ile-de-France follow. The poorest regions are situated in Poland (from 29 to 33%). Before enlargement three Greek regions and the Estremadura in Spain were at the bottom of this league table. Among the ten new members only Bratislava and Prague have a GDP higher than the average for the Fifteen. Gross domestic product of Europe as a whole is 9600 billion euros, or 28% of world wealth. The GDP of the USA exceeds 11,000 billion euros. Europe’s share of international trade reaches 20%, that of the USA 26%. The exports of the enlarged EU total 903 billion euros per year, imports 943 billion. Trade within the Community represents 66% of the overall volume of trade of the 25. The Europeans own less cars than the Americans (46 per 100 inhabitants against 75 in the USA, less computers (31 against 66), but more cell phones (74 against 49). ToWER OF BABEL. With enlargement the number of member states has grown by 67% (from 15 to 25) and that of the official languages by 82% (from 11 to 20). Ever since 1958 Community legislation has had to be translated into all the official languages. Today over 55% of the documents of the Commission are written in English, 30% in French and 5% in German. According to some estimates, 60% of candidates in competitions for European civil servants previously organized by the Fifteen chose English as their second language, 20% German and 12% French. It is also estimated that 6,000 citizens of the ten new member countries will join the current 33,000 ‘eurocrats’ by 2010. Of these 3,400 will be employed by the Commission, which now has a staff of 23,000; 830 will go to swell the army of 1300 translators and 450 interpreters. The pages to be translated will increase from 1.5 million to 2.4 million per year; the language combinations will rise to 180. WHAT SALARY FOR members of the european parliament? MEPs will rise in number from 626 to 732. In the absence of a uniform status, their salaries will be modelled on those of the national parliaments. With obvious disparities: ranging from 2,500 euros per month for Spanish MEPs to 12,000 euros for Italians. After the elections in June, a proposal of the EU Council of Ministers, tabled in 2000, will be discussed: it lays down an average salary of approximately 7,000 euros per month. The debate looks set to be heated. THE VALUE OF THE LAND. Agriculture is a vital sector for European policy. The common agricultural policy (CAP) absorbs 46% (over 45 billion euros) of the European budget. In this field the Fifteen have demonstrated a “relative generosity” towards the new members: each farmer in 2004 will receive only 25% of the aid granted to his colleagues in the Fifteen, but this figure will rise to 30% in 2005, 35% in 2006 and reach full parity in 2013. BRAIN DRAIN? According to a study published last February, only 220,000 persons per year (equivalent over five years to 1% of the working age population of the new member states) have the ‘firm’ intention of moving to the West. The French watchdog of economic trends (OFCE) estimates their number as three million. Those most seduced by the West are the young, often graduates. future frontiers. The frontiers of Europe will next be extended to Bulgaria and Romania, probably in 2007. No forecasts are yet being made for the entry of the western Balkans. The membership of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Israel seems rather unrealistic at the present time. In the autumn we will know whether the conditions are ripe for the opening of the calendar of negotiations with Turkey. No commitment has yet been made with regard to Croatia’s application for membership.