EU Membership and the "New Europe"
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| Relics of Eastern Europe's past are now considered kitsch. |
By Rick Steves and Cameron Hewitt
On May 1, 2004, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, and five other countries joined the European Union. As my Slavic friends exulted, their membership shifted the geographical center of Europe from Brussels to Prague.
So, in 2004, Eastern Europe became Central Europe — as it had been for centuries until the "Iron Curtain" slammed shut after WWII.
Each of these countries had a referendum, allowing residents to vote on whether to join the EU. In every case, the referendum passed, but sometimes by a narrow margin. EU membership — and investment — is certain to benefit these countries' economies (as it has in Portugal). But Eastern Europeans still have their doubts.
Take Poland as an example. Poles have a strong agricultural heritage. During the communist era, the Soviets collectivized small family farms in most of its satellite states — but Poland managed to preserve its traditional plots. After a half-century of successfully fighting for the rights of independent small farmers, EU-member Poland will...have to collectivize small farms.
Another prickly issue is the survival of the smaller cultures…for instance, keeping the Czech Republic Czech. After World War II, many German families living in the so-called "Sudetenland" — on the fringes of today's Czech Republic — were forced to move to Germany as their property became Czech. For 60 years, they were not able to return. But now that the Czech Republic and Germany belong to the same European Union, Germans will be able to buy back their family homesteads in the Czech countryside — and are likely to win any bidding war against the poorer Czechs.
Traditional Czech cuisine is also in jeopardy. EU hygiene standards dictate that cooked food can't be served more than two hours old. My Czech friend complained, "This will make many of our best dishes illegal." Czech specialties, often simmered, taste better the next day.
A wise Czech grandmother put it best. In her lifetime, she had lived in a country ruled from Vienna (Hapsburgs), Berlin (Nazis), and Moscow (Communists). She said, "Now that we're finally ruled from Prague, why would we want to turn our power over to Brussels?"
Current EU members are also skeptical about adding on more countries. Wealthy nations have already seen funds taken from them to improve the floundering economies of poorer countries (like Portugal, Greece and Ireland). This issue is especially dicey in Germany, where people living in the former West already loudly complain about the financial burden of pulling up the East. The former Warsaw Pact countries expect their new membership in the EU will come with less of a financial aid windfall than the Irish and Portuguese enjoyed.
The general consensus is that joining Europe was inevitably the right move. In a few years the Slovenes, Poles, Czechs and their neighbors will all be working harder than ever and enjoying more coins jangling in their pockets. And those coins will be euros.
For lots more information, check out our best-selling Rick Steves' Eastern Europe guidebook — or join us on one of our free-spirited Eastern Europe tours!