On joining the European Union on May 1, I believe many Eastern Europeans have contemplated the new situation of their respective countries and the consequences this political move might have. On the very personal level the most salient consequence is the feeling of being further marginalized. I have spoken to quite a few people of my age and above (35+): if one filters out the hysterical reactions of post-communists and not-at-all-post-communists, one has to feel the deepening blues of Eastern Europeans in the face of the ill-conceived integration (which could rather be termed "proliferation of the ritualized euro-bureaucracy").