European Union's enlargement and green economic growth perspectives

The European Union has carried on its development continuously over the past decades enlarging due to the accession of numerous countries. The international EU community now includes 27 member states with over 500 million inhabitants. The research objectives of this scientific paper are the individual enlargements of the European Union i.e. the countries that accessed the European Union since 1995 up to date. The potential countries striving to access to the EU have an aim to achieve positive economic impulses from being participants in one of the largest single markets in the world. If the expectations of the newly acceding countries are met, the effects of EU accession should be reflected in the indicators for economic growth, new public borrowing, investments and innovation towards green trends. It will be examined focusing on the period before and after accession of the European Union. The green and digital transitions will be key drivers of EU growth but without appropriate policy action, new economic, social and territorial disparities may come to existence. Selected statistical methods will be used for measuring the growth factors in the selected EU countries and the preparedness and initial steps for implementation ESG policy of theirs to contribute to the green economy growth of the European Union member states. The results of the scientific study represent an important point of reference for assessing current debates about the further intensification of economic and financial cooperation between the European member states.