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EU Expansion Benefits German Economy

March 3, 2004
https://p.dw.com/p/4jei

The EU's looming eastward expansion will bring new chances for German industry, Klaus Mangold, chairman of the East-West Committee of German Business said Tuesday. Mangold pointed out that though the economic performance of the 10 candidate countries, scheduled to join the EU in May, was much lower than other European countries, the new member states had a high growth potential. Growth rates in the new EU countries are expected to reach from 4 percent to 7 or 8 percent in the coming years, Mangold said, which would present a huge opportunity for Germany's export-driven economy. "It's going to be a massive market with rising incomes," Mangold said. Last year alone, German exports to the 10 candidate nations in Central and Eastern Europe increased by 7 percent.