Three Seas Initiative: Cooperation and Integration Are More Important Than Ever
When the first group of Central European countries joined the EU in 2004, their primary objective was to build strong and stable economies. European economic integration was a means to this end.
Fifteen years after accession, it is clear that the project has been an economic success. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), our GDP per capita measured in real purchasing power increased between 2004 and 2021 by more than 60% on average, ranging from more than 31% in Croatia (which, by the way, only joined the EU in 2013) to almost 103% in Lithuania. Over that period, the largest economies of Western Europe “grew richer” by a dozen percent.
The credit for this success in part goes to the development of trade. According to Eurostat, Polish exports of goods and services to the EU have risen by 386% since 2004, Lithuanian by 464%, and Estonian by 493%. Exports to non-EU countries have also risen just as fast thanks to investments and increased competitiveness. Over that period, exports from Germany, Europe’s power engine, have grown by “only” 110%. This attests to the scale of economic development in this part of Europe.
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