Costs and Benefits of the EU Enlargement: The Impact on the EU and SEE Countries

The south-eastern enlargement of the European Union will be the sixth enlargement since the establishment of the European Community in 1957. This research uses the gravity model to analyze the factors that have an influence on trade flows between the EU and South-east European Countries. The Gravity model explains patterns of trade with GDP, geographical distance and several dummy variables. Using the data from 2010, the gravity model analyzes trade flows between 23 countries from both the EU and South-eastern European Countries. Taking into consideration the costs of enlargement, this paper examines the possible effects of enlargement on trade flows, and its impact on the development of SEEC’s. Moreover, it offers a solution for the South-east European Countries which is the possibility to create the Balkan Union.