Bulgaria won’t catch up with the rest of the EU for a 100 years, shows a survey on EU member countries in Eastern Europe by Researchers at University of California, LA (UCLA).

Though these countries are on their way of catching up with Western Europe, they all have a long way to go, the study affirms. According to UCLA calculations, it will take Hungary 30-35 years, the Czech Republic 25 years, Romania 45-50 years to reach Western Europe's level. Slovenia is the fastest to reach EU standards - in just 5 years, according to the survey.

The UCLA research shows that there has been $240 billion worth capital coming to the CEE countries since 1989. At present Hungary's productivity is 60% of the EU average. In the early 1990s, CEE wages were as low as 7% of the German or Austrian wages, and now they are as low as 20%.

As for the differences in economic structure, the study shows that in the EU15 countries, people employed by SMEs amount to 50% of the total workforce, while in Hungary the ratio is only 20%, and even lower, 10% in other countries of the region.