ABSTRACT
The political, economic and social changes in Eastern Europe are occurring at such a pace that it is difficult enough for the citizens of this region to follow them, not to mention the foreigner. The later the changes in particular countries started, the higher their rate of development. That is, what happened in Poland over ten years took ten weeks in the German Democratic Republic and ten days in Czechoslovakia. With some differences in time, rate and intensity, all the states of Eastern Europe are trying to change their economic image. The institution of the joint venture was introduced to the states of Eastern Europe only a few years ago in reaction to the failure of the socialist development model. After all their experience with a totalitarian system Eastern Europe certainly knows what it does not want for the future. The states and people of Eastern Europe are at a historical crossroads.
