Seen from the point of view of the European Union's longtime member states, the eight postcommunist countries that - together with Cyprus and Malta - joined the EU on May 1st seem united in their positions on most important issues. Indeed, since the US intervention in Iraq, many West Europeans see the EU's new members from Europe's East as something of a bloc.
从欧盟长期成员国的观点来看，五月一号加入欧盟的8个后共产主义国家-再加上塞浦路斯和马耳他-似乎在大多数重大问题上立场统一。的确，自从美国入侵伊拉克以来，许多西欧人将来自欧洲东部的欧盟新成员国看作一个阵营。