Political and Economic Framework
The end of the 1980’s brought about radical political and economic
change in what is now the ten EU accession countries. Although countries
like Hungary, Poland, Lithuania and Estonia had already begun their moves
towards market reform, democratically elected government, and independence,
for the most part, it was the start of the new decade that witnessed the
most profound restructuring in central and eastern Europe.
In the ten years since the downfall of the communist regimes, six of the ten EU accession countries have either been newly founded or can be considered reborn states. Slovakia, for instance, declared independence in 1993, after its "Velvet Divorce" from the Czech Republic, while Slovenia became independent in 1991 after the break-up of former Yugoslavia. Three states; Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, all regained independence in 1990 or 1991.
Since these developments, the ten country reports show that all countries
have pursued market reforms with varying degrees of success. Countries
like Hungary and Poland initiated reform through austerity measures, which
are now providing a firm foundation for growing economies. Others like
the Czech and Slovak Republics delayed privatisation and reform owing to
political turmoil and uncertainty, while south-east European countries,
including Bulgaria and Romania experienced limited reform but have been
hindered by a lack of political will or periods of instability. In spite
of the varying progress, one thing remains clear, namely all ten countries'
bids for membership of the European Union and NATO (Czech Republic, Poland
and Hungary having already been admitted to the latter by March 1999).
This also serves as a driving force for further reform. Table 1 overleaf
summarises economic progress in autumn 1998 as presented in the individual
country reports (see country chapters for specific references).
| Country | Unemployment | Inflation | GDP | Key Contributing Sectors |
| Bulgaria | 13% | 6% | 5% | 51% services 36% industry 13% agricult. |
| Czech Republic | 6% | 2.5%* | -1 % | 53% services 43% industry 4% agricult. |
| Estonia | 5% | 10% | 7% | 53% services 37% industry 10% agricult. |
| Hungary | 10% | 13.5% | 5% | 61% services 32% industry 8% agricult. |
| Latvia | 6% | 8% | 7% | 57% services 34% industry 9% agricult. |
| Lithuania | 6% | 9% | 5% | 55% services 32% industry 13% agricult. |
| Poland | 10% | 12% | 6% | 54% services 40% industry 6% agricult. |
| Romania | 8.7% | 35.8%* | -3.5% | 45% services 35% industry 20% agricult. |
| Slovakia | 13.5% | 6.9% | 6.2% | 55% services 40% industry 5% agricult. |
| Slovenia | 14% | 7.6% | 6.5% | 62% services 33% industry 5% agricult. |
In the field of environment and transport, the prospect of EU membership is also driving the harmonisation of domestic legislation with the EU's body of law, the Acquis Communautaire. EU Directives are being gradually transposed in both sectors, with policies being harmonised accordingly. All countries have adopted national environment strategy documents, that in some include the OECD-based Environmental Action Plan, (Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia). In the transport sector, many countries are pursuing and implementing the results of the Transport Infrastructure Needs Assessment or TINA (Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania), while others have drafted their own strategies and corresponding laws (in Latvia, the National Programme for Transport Development, The Concept of Transport Development in Slovakia, and the Law on Road Transport in Slovenia). However, in many of these countries, the Czech Republic for example, the closure of railway lines, the reduction of train services, and the creation of favourable conditions for freight road transport and increasing private car ownership have deteriorating air quality.
All countries support the development of their information society and many participate in the joint High-Level Committee on Information Society (including Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovenia). Many have also drafted their own strategies, for example, the Objectives and Directions of the Information Society in Poland, National Strategy for Informatisation and Rapid Implementation of the Information Society in Romania, and the Strategy for the Implementation of the Information Society Policy in Slovakia.
Five of the above countries, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland
and Slovenia are now negotiating EU membership and expect to be admitted
sometime between 2002-5, while the "second wave" countries are focused
on a longer timeframe, but with EU admission central to their goals.
All countries are in the process of signing association agreements with
the EU’s Research and Technological Development (RTD) Fifth Framework Programme,
and these are expected to come into force July 1, 1999.
Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe
