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The accession of ten new countries on 1 May 2004 constitutes a crucial stage in the construction of the European Union. This enlargement is the biggest ever in absolute terms-adding 74 million inhabitants to the population of the Union, which now totals 455 million-and involves countries whose demographic regime differs markedly from that of the fifteen existing member countries. In eight of the ten new member countries-those of central and eastern Europe-population growth is negative or very low, and their fundamental demographic characteristics are a reminder that these countries belong to a region of the continent which was long regarded as "different". In some respects this is a novel situation. Hitherto, the countries that joined the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Union (EU) had, even before their accession, reduced the difference relative to the existing member countries. The immediate effect of this enlargement of the Union will be to rejuvenate the Community population but also to slow down its growth (1) .

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