ABSTRACT
Similarities and differences between countries are largely a matter of perspective. What strikes most western lay observers is how different from the west are the forms of political and economic organization in eastern Europe, yet how similar they are as a group. They are all to a greater or lesser degree centrally planned. They all became communist dominated at, or soon after, the end of the Second World War. Except for Yugoslavia and Albania they are members of the same trading and military blocs, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA or COMECON), and the Warsaw Pact, which were set up in 1949 and 1955 respectively. CMEA was formed as a response to Marshall Aid, the offer of which initially included also the east European countries, but the USSR chose to establish its own organization instead. Many countries in this group are also still highly secretive with economic data and those which they produce often have to be treated with some scepticism.
