The paper gives an overview of the stages which have led to enlargement and illustrates the relative conditions and prospects. It then goes on to examine the compatibility and harmonisation of welfare policies and of the social rights of European workers. All countries in Central and Eastern European countries have social security systems with common features stemming from the pre-communist era. With the «fall of the wall» a reform process was initiated especially of the pension systems spurred by fiscal reasons and negative demographic trends. The outlines examine the organisation and structure of the social protection system, funding sources and services rendered. The information has been taken from the Missceec II document of January 1 2002 drawn up by the European Institute of Social Security. only subscribers can see the full article