The EU’s eastward expansion is coming. Soon. Slovenia is the number one candidate country; The 2 million population of the small shooting star Slovenia could immediately become “net contributors” after joining the EU in 2004. The territorial state of Romania, with more than ten times as many inhabitants, is at the bottom of the list of applicant states. For decades, Romania will not even achieve half of the income of the current EU states and will not be included in the first round of enlargement.

The film puts the two very different countries side by side without making stereotyped comparisons. The starting point is a city, a steelworks, a family. We accompany the protagonists through their everyday lives and focus on their hopes and fears regarding EU accession.

Director: Andrea Ufer
Camera: Ralf Ilgenfritz
Editing: Ralf Ilgenfritz
Production lead: Sabina Engel
Station: MDR/arte