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Th is paper explores the agri-food export dynamics in the New Member States and the Old Member States of the European Union during the enlargement process. Th e analysis relies on two diff erent approaches based on the similarity and the sophistication indices of exported goods using a disaggregation at 95 items. Th e analysis shows that diff erent and somehow divergent paths are in place. On the one side, the Czech Republic and Poland are involved in a quality catching up process and increase their competitiveness. On the other side, Bulgaria and Romania seem to be still trapped in the low-quality segment of the agri-food market with a decreasing competitiveness performance in the richest segment of the European market.

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We analyse the role of the enlargement process of the European Union as a factor fostering international competitiveness of EU Member States. We argue that the economic integration process has partially reduced the technologicalgapbetweenoldandnewEUMemberStates,andthispatternoftechnologicalinnovationcanpartially explainthestrongimpulseontheexportdynamicsofEuropeancountries.Wehavebuiltanaugmentedgravitymodel by including the role of technological innovation, proxied by the stock of knowledge at the sector level. By using a dynamicpaneldataestimatorwefindthreemainempiricalevidences.First,theenlargementprocesshasproducedan overalllargerpositiveimpactonexportflowsfornewmembersthanforoldones,andmoreimportantlythatsectors with the higher technological content have received the strongest impulse. Second, the augmented gravity model allows shaping the crucial role of technological innovation in fostering export competitiveness. Third, this impact seemstobestrongerforoldEUmemberstatesthanfornewones.Thepolicyimplicationwederiveisthatthemore the new EU members catch up technologically as a result of the integration process, the more they will benefit in termsofeconomicdevelopment.