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2004 enlargement of the European Union : impact on Slovenia and Latvia
This section provides an overview of the 2004 enlargement on the new member's economic variables. The integration of 10 new states into the European Union (EU), mostly from the former Eastern bloc, constituted a challenge for the institutions. It also brought few transformations and transitions within the new member States.

Slovenia
Slovenia, the first state of the former Yugoslavia to join the EU, stood out for its political, social and economic transition from the other states joining in 2004. This by establishing one of the most and viable market economy among the other new member states. In 2007, Slovenia swapped its old currency for the euro and became the 13th state to join the Eurozone (as well as the first Central European state to do so). Later that year, it joined the Schengen area on December 21, along with all the 2004 newcomers except Cyprus.
 * Growth

Slovenia is one of the prosperous 2004 newcomers, regarding to its GDP per capita. Since its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, the country has made an effective transition oriented to the EU accession. Therefore the country achieve a solid stability. When joining the European Union in 2004, it was already a model of economic success among the Central and Eastern Europe countries. In 1993 (two years after the country's independence) the annual growth of Slovenia's GDP remained relatively constant until 2004, fluctuating between +2% and +5.33%. After joining the European Union in 2004, GDP growth accelerated to reach the record increases of 2006 & 2007 (respectively +5.75% & +6.98%), before falling due to the 2008 financial crisis. Since 2014, Slovenia's GDP has returned to an annual growth rate of over 2%. Integration into the European Union is therefore correlated with strong GDP growth, followed by deflation due to the economic crisis of 2008. Slovenian positive records are the result of the reforms in order to integrate the EU and the maturation of a ransition economy. Another notable fact is that the accession also opened a large free market of 450 million consumers.

Concerning the unemployment rate, it was nearly around 6% in 2003, 2004 and 2005 before declining the following years, which meant a decrease of the unemployment in the country until the financial crisis of 2008. This table shows the changes in the Slovenian unemployment rate over the years between 2002 and 2019.
 * Unemployment rate
 * Internal disparities (GINI coefficient)

For Slovenia, the index was above 30 before 2004. It fell sharply to around 24 after the integration into the EU. From 2008, the index gradually increased until it reached 25,59 in 2012. It remains one of the lowest coefficients in the world. By way of comparison, the average coefficient for the European Union is 30.


 * National income per capita

Concerning the Gross National Income per capita in Slovenia, it was 1283$ per month in 2004. In four years it has increased to 2018$ per month. This corresponds to a growth of 57% over a four-year period between integration into the European Union and the 2008 crisis. After 2008, the Gross National Income stagnated and finally reached $2044 per month in 2018.

Latvia
Latvia, like the other two Baltic States, joined the EU during the 2004 enlargement. The specificity of these countries is that they were initially part of the USSR as Soviet Republics. More than any other, it was necessary to move from a socialist system of centralised planning to a market economy, in a very brutal way in a rather short period of time. This required profound transformations of the country's economic and political structures.
 * Growth

Latvia joined the European Union on 1 May 2004 with 67% of the electorate voting in favour. The country had a population of 2.4 million in 2002 before accession. In comparative terms, this represented 0.6% of the EU-15. While its GDP corresponded to 0.1% of that of the 15 member states. However, the gross domestic product (GDP) growth exceeded 6% each years (2000-2007) and even 10% (2005-2007), during the years following the integration But on the other side, gross external debt had reached almost 135 percent of GDP in 2007, making the country considerably exposed to foreign financial shocks. The 2010s are characterised by a slowdown in GDP growth compared to the 2000s. The Latvian economy is mainly based on agriculture, logistics, woodworking and chemical production.


 * Unemployment rate

Latvia was badly affected by the economic crisis from 2008 onwards and a banking crisis followed, with in particular a large fall in property prices. The unemployment rate was then very high and reached 17,51% in 2009. From 2008 to 2011, the percentage of part-time workers also increased, from 6.3% to 9.2%. At the end of 2008, the Latvian government had recourse to international aid, including the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and also Sweden. The Latvian government has introduced a comprehensive programme to reduce public sector wages and a reform of the health care system has been carried out. There has also been a reduction in funding for public agencies. In addition, there has been a reflection to encourage different infrastructure projects and to optimise the use of European credits. In the field of transport and logistics, Latvia is committed to increasing its attractiveness. As a result of this ambitious plan, growth returned in 2011. The government has fulfilled its obligations to the international aid it has received. Exports increased by 12% in 2012. The public deficit fell from 9.8% of GDP in 2009 to 1.2% in 2013. In 2015, Latvia was the third country in the European Union with the lowest public deficit. This table shows the changes in the Latvian unemployment rate over the years between 2002 and 2019.


 * Internal disparities (GINI coefficient)

For Latvia, the index was around 35 and 37 the years before the EU integration. In 2004 the index reached a value of over 39, a sign of increasing disparities within Latvia. Subsequently, from 2006 onwards, the index returned to its pre-EU values.


 * National income per capita

In 2019, the average gross monthly wage in Latvia is estimated at EUR 1091 wich is a low average wage compared to other EU countries. There is a variation in pay in different parts of the country. For example the highest wages are paid in and around Riga, the capital of Latvia, while the average wage is lowest in the Latgale region in eastern Latvia. Even though the income has globaly increased, the number of people earning less than the subsistance minimum is rising.

One indicator to measure the well-being of the population is the HDI. It has followed a positive trend comparing 1990 to 2010. The country is characterized by high levels of human development, especially after the accession to the EU while the human well-being improved more rapidly until decreasing as result to the euro crisis.