Europe Union weary from growing pains

"Keeping them out of the EU doesn't solve any of these problems," says Mr. MacShane. "You don't stop people coming, you don't stop the pernicious influence of trafficking and corruption and crime.

"But bringing [new countries] in [to the EU] means they are under pressure to try and improve their game," he adds. In other words, by pushing new members to improve in the regulatory arenas of human rights, health, and worker safety, EU membership will eventually level the playing field for businesses and workers across the continent.

In Britain moreover, it is arguable that the migrant influx – described by one academic as the largest wave of immigration the British Isles have ever experienced – has transformed the country in a good way. Employers have generally found the workmanship of the new arrivals reliable and cost-efficient. And for customers, there is no longer a shortage of handymen, so there is greater choice and better value.

"Our customers are happy," says self-employed Polish builder Marek Flaszka. "We are cheaper, but we give the same guarantees."

Yet Britain has decided that with Bulgaria and Romania it will not allow free access. There is a sense that in some parts of the country, the post-2004 immigration surge has led to imbalances, overcrowding, and serious pressure on local authorities. Some schools have reported that suddenly a quarter of their pupils are Polish.

Even immigrants like Mr Flaszka are unsure if a further influx is a good idea. "England is not so big for everybody in the world to come here," he says. "This is a problem if lots more builders come. The price will go down."

It remains to be seen if these doubts will ultimately lead to drawing up the bridge or just drawing breath.

Some European thinkers say that in the future, new entrants might get different types of members, that some European countries will be "more equal than others."

Katinka Barysch, an expert with the Centre for European Reform in London says that "inevitably you will have different forms of membership." She notes that some countries are moving closer together on justice and policing, others are bound in the single currency, and still others collaborate on regional foreign policy concerns.

"It will be a more flexible and fuzzy EU and that will make it easier to join," she says. "You won't have to take the whole package straight away."

New EU members since May 2004:

Poland

Hungary

Czech Republic

Latvia

Estonia

Lithuania

Slovenia

Slovakia

Malta

Cyprus

Set to join in January 2007:

Bulgaria

Romania

Formal talks begun, but no date:

Croatia

Turkey

No formal talks yet:

Serbia

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Macedonia

Montenegro

Albania

Not planning on joining:

Norway

Iceland

Switzerland

Liechtenstein

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