Abstract: The present article aims to point to some contradictory aspects of the forthcoming Eastern Enlargement of the EU. These contradictions can be perceived both between the EU and the Candidate Countries, and Hungary. It will be highlighted that the formal transposition of the ‘social and labour law acquis’, does not automatically mean substantial alignment. There is an urgent need to attribute a prominent role to solidarity and social inclusion as fundamental values, since not everybody is capable of adapting to the drastic economic and social changes, Eastern Europeans had to go through during the last decade when economic transformation took precedence over social issues.
International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations