The ten countries that joined the European Union (EU) in 2004 are going through an economic "slow down" period that follows the initial investments boom, the World Bank reported.

A report of the institution says that the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia should implement economy reforms in order to reach the level of the richer EU members.

The WB report shows that over the first year of the countries' membership they managed to achieve an expanded capital flow, followed by a delay in the economy development over the first six months of 2006.

All EU newcomers, except for Estonia, have registered a decrease in their GDP.