Prospects for reconciliation through economic
integration vary a great deal in Central and Eastern Europe. The conditions and
the characteristics of economic integration are different between the already
EU member Central European countries and those in the post-Soviet area. An
additional perspective relates to the economic relations between Russia and the
“new” EU member states. Many countries openly express their fears of Russian
influence in trade or through capital relations, regarding both direct
investment and business loans. In the post-Soviet region, Russia’s intention is
to achieve economic reintegration. This policy is not without success as seen
in the creation of the Eurasian Economic integration and the (temporary?)
failure of the Eastern Partnership policy of the European Union. The
post-Soviet region, except for the Baltic States is increasingly bound to
Russia. In this integration, the key factor is the power with which Russia can
assert its interests, while its allies remain corrupt, autocratic local
leaders. The problem in Central Europe is that the slow economic convergence of
several countries in the region and the sluggish income growth has led to an
overall dissatisfaction with the applied economic and political models and with
the economic integration in the European Union. Although the EU created a
uniform regulation and a single market for each of its new members, this has
not been able to eradicate all the suspicions and problems within the accessed
countries. Problems are appearing from time to time in different relations and
are mostly related to ethnic minorities, economic interests, or national
political interests serving economic objectives. (Click on the picture!)
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