With the accession of Spain, Portugal (1986) and Greece (1981) the population of EU grew by 22 per cent while its GDP only by 10 per cent . ... The least favoured countries as Spain, Portugal, Greece and Ireland have managed to reduce the gap between their economies and other regions of EU. ... At the national level, convergence is still significant for the least prosperous countries of the Union (Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain), with average per capita GDP rising from 67.6% in 1988 to 78.8% in 1998. ... The cumulative effect added about 10% to GDP in Greece, Ireland and Portugal and over...

• Word Count: 2628
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Another reason why Turkey should be added to the EU is because their is an "increasingly well-educated population can help the EU cope with the problems of an ageing population " (bbc). ... There has been a high unemployment rate in Greece and Spain that is causing Europe lots of trouble. ... Their would be no more barriers to trade, and so free trade can bring lots of new products that Europe cannot make, or inefficiently makes. ... The EU could increase its competition by adding Turkey, which would help them greatly. ...

• Word Count: 621
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School