Poziom ubóstwa w krajach nowo przyjętych do Unii Europejskiej

The paper presents chosen indicators of poverty and labour market in new member countries of the European Union. The new member countries could participate in the open coordination of policy against poverty and social exclusion from the first day of membership. The poverty level in new member countries was almost on the same level as in the "old" members but the poverty threshold was much lower in new members. The biggest sphere of poverty was in Estonia and Lithuania (over 16%), the lowest-in the Czech Republic and Hungary (about 10%). The main cause of poverty in all of the member countries was unemployment, especially persistent.