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Resume
The EU enlargement in 2004 and 2007 for the new Member States has influenced the social and economic situation of households in the EU countries, especially the newly admitted ones. Processes of adaptation to the new situation were expressed, among others, in the acceptance by the communities of countries with a lower level of economic growth the consumption patterns shaped in the countries with a higher level of development. The analysis covers the period 2004- -2011 and aims at showing whether and how the consumption patterns in the households in Poland have changed after 2004. In the European Union there is considerable differentiation in the level of expenditure between individual Member States, especially between the “old” and “new” members. The changes in consumption patterns in households have expressed in the improving of the living standard in the years 2004-2011.