Study: EU entry benefits to arrive late

A STUDY called A Development Prognosis for Slovakia until 2010, done by the Slovak Academy of Sciences, has warned that the Slovak economy will not start to improve dramatically until a decade after the country's acceptance to the European Union. The report suggests that the gross domestic product (GDP) will grow only 29 per cent from 2000 to 2010, and that the costs associated with integration will initially outweigh the benefits. The Academy predicts that unemployment and an increasing share of retired people against wage earners will trouble the country over the current decade, while differences in regional standards of living will widen unless new regional elected governments take concerted action. However, the study argues, Slovakia will find it easier to deal with these problems from within the EU than from without.