Thematic coloring is very useful for some kinds of maps. It's not very well-integrated yet, but this map already looks nice.

projection = equalarea
size       = 800 500
center     = 13 53
extend     = 27 19
name       = eu
background = political
borders
clabels
locale     = pl
colors     = eui.clp

And the color file:

A0A0A0
000080: FRANCE, NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM, LUXEMBOURG, GERMANY, DENMARK, IRELAND, UNITED KINGDOM, PORTUGAL, SPAIN, GREECE, ITALY
0000C0: AUSTRIA, SWEDEN, FINLAND
0000FF: POLAND, CZECH REPUBLIC, SLOVAKIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA, ESTONIA, HUNGARY, CYPRUS, MALTA, SLOVENIA
6060FF: ROMANIA, BULGARIA
C0C0FF: TURKEY