Introduction - diversity and adaptation in the enlarged European Union, Jan Zielonka and Peter Mair; eastward enlargement of the European Union and the identity of Europe, Dieter Fuchs and Hans-Dieter Klingemann; culture and national identity - the east and European integration, David D. Laitin; discomforts of victory - democracy, liberal values and nationalism in post-communist Europe, Vladimir Tismaneanu; making institutions in central and eastern Europe, and the impact of Europe, Darina Malova and Tim Haughton; making markets and eastern enlargement - diverging convergence?, Laszlo Bruszt; health not wealth - enlarging the EMU, Daniel Gros; the welfare state in transition economies and accession to the EU, Hans-Jurgen Wagener; approaching the EU and reaching the US? rival narratives on transforming welfare regimes in east-central Europe, Janos Matyas Kovacs.