Extreme Europe: Biggest

The new EU will stretch more than 3,000 kilometres from east to west, spanning three time zones and a dramatic array of climates.

The smallest EU state will be home to just a few hundred thousand, the largest will boast nearly 90 million. The average yearly income in one country will not be much more than the typical monthly wage in another.

In a Europe of such contrasts, BBC News Online asked those living in the extremities to discuss their hopes and fears for the future of an enlarged EU.

---

Name: Harald Grethe
Age: 39
Occupation: Agriculatural economist
Country: Germany, the new EU's largest state

With regard to employment there will be one positive and one negative effect. The negative effect will be more pressure on lower wage segment jobs, because it will get even easier for industries to move to places with lower wage costs.

But central European states are huge markets and many German products will be traded with the new member states. There will be more jobs in trade as well as in production of export goods.

I hope that German policy makers will use EU enlargement as an incentive to make labour markets more flexible. It will have to be this way if unemployment in Germany is not to become any higher than it is right now.

I also think it is an incentive to invest more in education. If we want to stick to relatively high wages in international comparison we simply have to justify that high productivity of work can only be generated by highly skilled workers.

You live in the biggest country within the EU, and as such have major clout within the union. Do you feel you influence decisions taken by the EU given the country's size?

Germany has quite some influence in the EU council due to the number of votes. It has always been a compromise. Votes do not reflect fully the size of population. In the long term, I think it will be necessary to let the size of population be more reflected in the decision making process.

I would like EU policy to be more affected by the parliamentary process. I think in the long run it's a problematic situation that the EU council is the last institution deciding on almost everything. The role of the parliament should be enhanced.

Are there any lessons you think can be learned from the German experience of reunification?

Yes, probably some, because there were mistakes. One very important lesson is that policy makers should be honest about the effects of enlargement as well as being honest to the acceding countries and not telling them that there will be quick and easy money.

Otherwise hopes arise that cannot be fulfilled. Our government should be honest to the public and not tell them this will all be for free. Economic cohesion is costly, of course. So huge transfers of money from old to new member states are necessary and I think it's good, that we will have this transfer.

After German reunification, people were told that in a few years we would have this blooming landscape and it would not be costly. After a while, everybody was disappointed.