"Wobbly finances, low living standards and weak institutions are a bad mixture. The ten “new” (a relative term: most joined in 2004) ex-communist members of the European Union were once seen as its most troubled economies. In 2008-09 Hungary, Latvia and Romania needed bail-outs. Across the region unemployment rose and growth slumped. Western European policymakers worried about contagion." (Quoted from article)