Ten countries join the European Union today, making it a group of 25 – a long way from its beginnings of six, a little more than 50 years ago. If you think in terms of population, the EU will become the world's most variegated trading association, with the 74 million new citizens taking the total to 455 million, and how many languages?

The EU’s centre of gravity will shift eastward, as its surface area increases by about 25%, giving it a long border with the former Soviet Union. The new member states are poorer than the old ones, with a combined GDP of less than 5% of the existing 15, but their economies are growing fast.

This may make for some entertaining international developments.

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Eudaimonia