EU eastward enlargement

On May 1, 2004, the European Union admitted ten new member states in its largest single enlargement, including Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and the Baltic states, most of them former communist economies that had been transitioning to market systems since 1989-91. Membership gave these economies tariff-free access to the EU's single market, eligibility for large EU structural and cohesion funds aimed at narrowing income gaps, and freedom of movement that let millions of workers migrate west for higher wages, with remittances flowing back home. Poland in particular went on to record one of Europe's strongest sustained growth records over the following two decades, notably avoiding recession even during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.