Impacts of the EU-Accession on Trade Positions

The study presents a comparison between EU-member countries that once or at present attempt(ed) to catch up to the current EU-average (Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Finland, Hungary). The aim of the paper is to analyse their trade competitiveness. The study seeks response to the questions: How different were the starting positions of these countries? What effects have prevailed already and what can be expected? What were the effects of customs abolishment related to EU-accession? How did the competitiveness of export, the import demand, the structure of foreign trade and the trade balance develop? What are the sources of the trade effects?