In an exclusive interview with the EUobserver, the former Danish prime minister, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, says that the future member states will give a much needed shot in the arm to the EU's goal of becoming the most competitive economy in the world by 2010 - its so-called Lisbon strategy.
Mr Rasmussen, who has just published a new paper on the Lisbon strategy for the European socialist group and helped set up the strategy, said, " Back our independent journalism by becoming a supporting memberGet EU news that matters