This document summarizes a comparative analysis of the interconnections between technological and socioeconomic developments in agriculture and rural development, human capital formation, and social systems in the 13 candidate countries (CCs) for admission into the European Union (EU) and in the 15 countries of the EU. Specific topics considered in sections A through C are as follows: (1) the unsustainability of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP); (2) human capital formation; and (3) social systems (pension systems, unemployment compensation, health care, consumer protection, migration, gender policies, social relations). Section D contains the paper "Demographic Change in the EU-Pre-accession Countries: The Challenges of an Enlarged EU" by Gery Coomans. Section E summarizes key arguments and recommendations presented in sections A through D, including the following: (1) thinking about the CAP and its implementation must be revised; (2) although most CCs do not differ significantly from the EU average when analyzed based on the conventional indicators of educational input and output, the CCs may in fact be facing a human capital deficit that the conventional indicators cannot capture; and (3) the notion of "social Europe" based on shared values of equality and social structures is not always consistent with EU external policies. Fifty-four tables/figures/maps are included. A 56-item reference list and a list of 16 suggestions for further reading are included. (MN)