Major Trends in Foreign Trade of the New Member States (EU-10) after Their Accession to the European Union

Abstract

The aim of the article was to present the results of an analysis of major trends in foreign trade in the 10-year period following the largest eastern EU enlargement (2004–2013). Accession to the European Union meant a significant change in New Member States’ trade terms, both with other accession countries and EU-15 and third countries. The analysis focuses on the growing role of foreign trade as one of the important factors of economic development of the EU-10 and the increased integration of these countries into the global economy after accession. The statistical aspect of the study focused on the analysis of import and export growth (flows and dynamics), the structure of trade by SITC and BEC commodity groups, concentration indicators (such as the Gini coefficient and the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index) and the similarity of the structures of exchange. The conclusions from this research enabled the identification of arguments for the thesis that structural changes which resulted from trade liberalisation within the EU integration processes helped improve the international competitive position of the EU-10 states.