ETRC releases EU enlargement report

John Rimmer

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The European Travel Retail Council this week released a report entitled EU Enlargement: Next Steps, as the trade body outlines its view of the options facing the EU as it expands eastwards

The European Travel Retail Council (ETRC) has released a report entitled EU Enlargement: Next Steps, designed to give its members an overview of how enlargement will affect them. Building on the report published by the ETRC in October 2003, the new report analyses how the EU's eastwards expansion in May 2004 has affected regional travel-retail, and looks at how likely further expansion is in today's political climate.

The rejection of the EU draft constitution by French and Dutch voters last year has "reignited the debate on the future enlargement of the Community", said the ETRC. Bulgaria and Romania are scheduled to join by 2008, while Turkey, Croatia and FYR Macedonia have been accepted as candidate countries. The ETRC report analyses the political progress needed before these countries are accepted as EU members.

In its analysis of the impact of the 2004 expansion, the ETRC report will look at how the loss of duty-free sales was at least partly offset by increased air travel to and from new member states, and by increased spending power among their citizens.

The report is available to ETRC members for €150. For more details, contact ETRC secretary general Keith Spinks at spinks.etrc@wanadoo.esor call +34 687 529 528.