ABSTRACT
The post-socialist transformation, leading to the economic integration of Central and Eastern Europe into the European Union, has been one of the success stories of European development after 1990. Economic convergence has been dynamic, despite some fluctuations, and in several cases more far-reaching than in Western Europe. This chapter analyses among the countries of the region – and within them – the multidimensional developments that ensued after they emerged from ‘real socialism’ and entered on the path of structural change which led them to the membership of the European Union and participation in as well as co-creation of policies of the EU. It also deals with a short account of the starting point for the economic transition, including the historic roots of economic development and development trajectories during the second half of the 20th century, and the effects of the fall of the socialist system in centrally planned economies.
