From the EU's viewpoint, the admittance of the ten new members would not be a large-scale event, as these countries' combined GDP only slightly exceed 5% of the entire EU's GDP, Mr. Chizhov said.
The EU is not in for a major population explosion either, as the total number of EU citizens will rise from 380 million to 450 million.
However, Mr. Chizhov said that the enlargement process had significant consequences for Russia.
According to him, following the EU's enlargement, the combined turnover of the 25 member-nation union would be exceed half of Russia's foreign trade, instead of the current figure of 36%.
Mr. Chizhov explained that this was because the ten new members had well-developed ties with Russia.
"We would like to see that these ties are not harmed, or that the damage done to them is at least kept to the minimum," he said, pointing out that the EU had recognized the legitimacy of Russia's position on this issue.
