The publication presents the results of research done by a team of Bulgarian scholars in the framework of the joint international comparative project "After the Accession: The Socio-Economic Culture of Eastern Europe in the Enlarged Union: An Asset or a Liability?" carried out in 2002-2003 by the Centre for Advanced Study Sofia and coordinated by the Institut fur die Wissenschaften vom Menschen(IWM) in Vienna. National teams from 10 different countries and different fields of research participated. The project focused on strategic problems of the post-accession period: the cohabitation of "Eastern" and "Western" socio-economic cultures in the enlarged EU and the likelihood of their convergence. Current cultural encounters between "East" and "West" were examined and predictions were made on future patterns of cultural accomodation and adaptation.