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Central Europe has had a makeover in the last 20 years. The gap between the level of development in Central and Western Europe has undoubtedly shrunk. Inequalities and unemployment have risen, but not as drastically as was anticipated. Entry into the EU has been a major factor in this, and the transition from planned economy to market economy will be completed by 2013 – when restrictions on equality of treatment between older and newer members of the European Union will be lifted.