The Czech Republic has been in the EU for 20 years, in purchasing power it has overtaken Greece, Portugal or Spain | Currently

Czech Republic for entry into EU requested in 1996. Several years of negotiations culminated in 2003, when the only Czech national referendum on accession was held so far. In it, 77.33 percent of people spoke in favor of integration into the European community.

Over the past 20 years, the Czech Republic has received 1.12 trillion crowns from European sources after deducting its own contributions. In 2004, it entered with GDP per capita at 80 percent of the average EU, it is now 91 percent. In terms of purchasing power parity, the Czech Republic overtook Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Slovenia in the last 20 years and came close to Italy.

Membership in the European Union enabled Czech companies to expand into European markets and cooperate with foreign partners. It also opened up the possibility of using European subsidies. At the same time, it brought greater competition, not only in the sale of production, but also in the effort to recruit qualified employees. This follows from a survey by the consulting company Deloitte among Czech businesses,

Since the largest wave of expansion to date in 2004, k EU three more countries joined – Bulgaria and Romania in 2007 and Croatia in 2013.