Europe's borders are not fixed, and the European Commission is against a set definition. The paper discusses the expansion of the European Union towards the East. It analyzes the winners and losers of this transition using a World Bank approach. Most applicant countries have made progress in aligning their monetary systems with EU requirements. The enlargement of the Economic and Monetary Union is expected to bring both immediate and long-term benefits similar to those seen with the introduction of the euro. While the economic impact on applicant countries is significant, the EU itself is not greatly affected economically. The main reason for the expansion is to maintain stability in Europe, rather than for economic reasons.