Where did the capital and the workforce go? A economic short time assessment of the EU-enlargement

The following article tries to assess the short term impact on EU enlargement 2004 on workforce migration, FDI flows, inflation rates and unemployment in the new member states and EU-15. It uses time scales of the relevant data from Eurostat and national statistics. The result of the study show that the consequences of enlargement differ considerably from what was predicted: Labor force restriction led to a redirection of migration flows, but not only from traditional receiving countries with restrictions to more liberal countries but also to non-EU countries.  Enlargement apparently had an effect on inflation and unemployment, it did not have any effect on EU-15 labor markets. Neither did restrictions for capital movement in the new member states prevent FDI. The strong increase in FDI to new members after 2004 did not only originate from EU-15, thanks to their new status as full members, the newcomers also attracted investors from outside the EU.