The forecasts of the proportion of East Europeans who were expected to move west within a 15 years ranged from 2.5% to 6%. Given that about 5% of the Polish population has now emigrated within a period of only four years, despite immigration restrictions by important target countries, these estimates were much too cautious.
在欧盟东扩以前，许多研究都预计到了可能随之而来的移民潮。预计在15年内东欧人移民到西欧的比例是2.5%到6%。尽管吸纳移民主要国家采取限制移民措施，但是鉴于在仅仅4年之内波兰移民人口就达到大约5%，因此这些估计过于谨慎。