i'm not really sure in the correctness of this graph, since i know German wages were the slowest rising in Europe around 2010. And the point of my graph was to show that wages in Eastern Europe were converging to Germany's standard before the recession.
From 2010:
German wage rises lowest in Europe - Jobs in Germany - The Local
You are stuck in cold war mentality, world doesn't divide anymore on those fault lines.
It is in their best interest to have a prosperous eastern half of the continent because that strengthens the entire group.
There is no choice, for better or for worse, it's either we stick together or fall one by one to interest groups and lobbying from USA, China and yes even Russia.
It's better to be the bloc with largest market in the world and the associated negotiating power that comes with it then solo states that mean nothing in the world context.
GDP for EU27 is ~17 trillion$, if the eastern states put in some good growth it has a realistic chance of reaching 20 trillion$+, which by any standards is massive.