The aim of this paper is to present the impact on the European Union’s trade structure arising from the Eastern enlargements. The effects of economic integration resulting from the participation of a certain country in the EU’s internal market were reviewed at the beginning. Afterward, the intra- and extra-EU trade structure by member state and product group with the CEE countries’ share in it in years 2004–2012 was analyzed. The group-average clustering was the method used to show the similarities in their share in the EU trade structure. Ten years after the Eastern enlargements the share of the CEE countries in the EU trade, both geographic and sectoral orientation of their trade flows, is rising, but still is rather low comparing to the EU-15. The main reason for this situation is their very large economic distance from the EU-15.

The aim of this paper is to present the impact on the European Union’s trade structure arising from the Eastern enlargements. The effects of economic integration resulting from the participation of a certain country in the EU’s internal market were reviewed at the beginning. Afterward, the intra- and extra-EU trade structure by member state and product group with the CEE countries’ share in it in years 2004–2012 was analyzed. The group-average clustering was the method used to show the similarities in their share in the EU trade structure. Ten years after the Eastern enlargements the share of the CEE countries in the EU trade, both geographic and sectoral orientation of their trade flows, is rising, but still is rather low comparing to the EU-15. The main reason for this situation is their very large economic distance from the EU-15.