A number of criteria had emerged in previous enlargements. Under the changed conditions of the 1990's, they are no longer likely to be as strictly applied as in the past, yet do offer certain guidelines for the current round of applicants. They must have a functioning democracy which has operated successfully for a certain period of time. Their per capita income must be not less than around 60 percent of the poorest existing member country. Their share of agriculture in their GDP must not be more than 18 percent.
Turkey is the only applicant with a long history of democracy and multiparty politics.
Approximately 14 percent of Turkey's GDP is procured from agriculture. At present, only the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic could meet the per capita income requirement, but reasonably optimistic projections of existing growth rates suggest that all potential candidates will satisfy this condition over the next two decades at the latest. If existing policies are maintained, the cost to EU taxpayers of admitting candidate countries from Eastern Europe is likely to be very high, probably unacceptably so. The net annual cost of admitting these countries has been estimated at different levels, ranging from ECU 80 to ECU 30 billion. It seems certain therefore that the current system will be sharply modified no matter which countries are admitted.